Final Fantasy 13 - Defy Fate
by LadyAmazon
Summary: Eria Vallis was born and raised from Gran Pulse until one day she fell asleep and woke up on Cocoon. On a mission to get back home she boards the Purge train and meets enemies and friends along the way, not knowing her quest to get home was just the beginning of something bigger. HopexOc All property is owned by Square Enix
1. The Purge

Final Fantasy 13

 ** _Gran Pulse…the parallel of Cocoon… a world of natural evolution where animals and plants can grow to tremendous sizes…A world that's wild, beautiful, and untamed. A place ruled by the brutal struggle for survival under the control of the fal'Cie. There's no such thing as mercy…only the never-ending string of trials and challenges that force out the weak and leave only the strong. It's my home and I love it. It was a world with a thriving civilization and many great cities…now however it's becoming a home to ruins where people are slowly dying off…all because of Cocoon._**

 ** _The people of Cocoon believe that Gran Pulse is a living hell for humans when it really isn't. Those softies didn't know how to survive is all. How dare they look down on us way up in the sky…hanging over us like a moon that never disappears. It's a false paradise…all those cities and people. We, the people of Gran Pulse, despise the people of Cocoon. We see them as impending intruders waiting to destroy our world. It has happen a few times where weak minded humans try to venture to Cocoon to take back the resources the fal'Cie of Cocoon stole from us. A trap the weak always fell for…but enough is enough. We refuse to be played with…we refuse to be afraid of that floating paradise in the sky. If they want a war…we'll give them one…_**

* * *

 **Welcome to** **Bodum**

I read the sign quietly to myself. I'm unsure how I ended up here, but I do know for sure that I'm not on Pulse anymore. _'The question is how do I get back?'_

"Freeze!"

I let out a long annoyed sigh hearing the many scurried feet of the armed men that patrolled around here. Letting my red sarong brush against my ankles as I turned to face them, "What?"

They held their guns to me "Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air."

I fingered my bow, "By whose orders?"

"By Lieutenant Yaag Rosch." The leader said stepping closer to me with four others behind him, "Now drop your weapon and put your hands in the air. You're joining the others to be purged."

"Purged to where?"

They exchanged looks through their ugly helmets as if they couldn't believe what I had asked. "To Gran Pulse. There's a train to take all pulse l'Cie to Gran Pulse."

I held in a smirk. _'Ah my way back home._ ' I didn't drop my weapon but I approached them willingly, "Alright. Take me to this train."

When they tried to take my weapon away from me I disposed three of the troop men leaving only the leader. Trapping his head in between the string and notch, I pulled it back to cut off some of his air, "Take me to this train now and I won't kill you." I threatened.

With little choice he took me to the train that would take Pulse l'Cie to Gran Pulse. I'm personally glad that this wouldn't turn into a grand adventure for me to get back home.

"Join at the end of the line!" A soldier ordered as other soldiers pushed other people towards the trains with their guns, "Attention purge deportees follow instructions and stay in your lines. Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival. Do not leave your lines – it's for your own safety."

Standing in line I waited my turn to get those stupid looking garbs placed on. Behind me a young woman with light pink hair and a black man with an afro whispered back and forth with each other. I only caught every other word they whispered but I was sure I heard her tell the man that if he wanted quiet, he better get on the next train. I don't know what that meant but they better not mess with my chances of going home.

* * *

A few hours into the train ride I had overheard the soldiers saying that the train will arrive in Hanging Edge, wherever that was, in a few minutes. Glancing up at the other passengers again, I noticed their somber faces. Some were muttering things to themselves while others were crying. The rest just stayed silent, knowing that there was nothing they could do to stop what was happening to them.

Letting let out a small sigh, leaning her head back against the metal wall of the train

"You serious?" A man that sat a few seats away from mine asked.

"Be quiet." The woman next to him ordered in a low voice as a PSICOM soldier came in, pointing his gun and staring down at everyone. We were all dressed in the same grayish white cloak with blue linings running down it, our faces hidden by the hood.

"Hmph. Best of luck." The same man that had spoken before said to the woman next to him.

We were nearing the Hanging Edge when the train started shaking as it got through the force field, making the soldier lose his balance. The woman took the opportunity and launched herself towards the soldier, knocking him out before stepping on the controller he was holding, breaking everyone free of their cuffs. All the passengers stood up cheering silently as they realized they were free.

"She did it!" The man that had previously spoken exclaimed as he stood up, just as two other PSICOM soldiers rushed in shooting as they realized what had happened.

The woman jumped out of her cloak before kicking one of the soldiers in the head and then elbowing the other, taking the gun he was holding. She kicked another oncoming soldier in the head, before shooting the one behind him.

I just watched in shock as all of this happened. I glanced to my right to see the man that had spoken to the woman had taken off his cloak as well, revealing a black man from before. He seemed to be in his early 40's and his hair was styled in an afro. He was wearing an olive pilot coat over a white button-up shirt, khakis with black boots and black fingerless gloves. He also had two pistol holsters strapped to his thighs.

He looked at me and smiled before kneeling beside a little boy with blonde hair and asked him if he was all right. "I'm not a l'Cie". He assured him. The little boy looked up hesitantly, when suddenly a chocobo chick popped out of the man's hair and chirped, making the little boy laugh.

' _What in the name of Pulse are they doing?!'_ I decided to follow the man.

Afro guy started to hand out guns to the other passengers. "So far, so good" He says as he lead us to where the woman from before was. "They all want to fight." He informed her.

"Good for them." She dismissed, frowning.

I looked at her closely. She had pink hair thrown over her left shoulder. She also had blue eyes and wore a Guardian Corps uniform, which consisted of a white leather vest over a sleeveless brown turtle neck. A red piece of a cape covering her right backside. She also had a black sleeve on her left arm, blue fingerless gloves, a short brown leather skirt and belt, a leg pouch was attached to her left thigh and she had knee-length boots.

 _'No wonder she can fight! She's a soldier!'_ I concluded after I had finished analyzing her. I mentally cried since I realized I probably had no chance of getting home if she kept this up! She looked out the train's door to see that we had entered the Hanging Edge. I began to chew nervously on my bottom lip in anxiety when suddenly, air planes started to shoot at the train.

"Give me that." The woman snapped, taking afro man's bazooka from his hands and shooting at one of the planes, successfully taking it down. She then shot at another, but missed. I helplessly watched as the plane shot a beam of electricity and destroyed half of the train. But thankfully the train kept going. I leaned my weight against one of the walls as I continued to watch. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Then the mechanical scorpion jumped on the train, stopping it from going any further. He smacked his tail on top of the train making a huge gape.

"RUN!" Afro man shouted, doing just as he said, though he slightly turned back when he noticed he wasn't being followed. "I meant away!" He added as the pink haired woman jumped towards where the mechanical scorpion rested. He sighed as he climbed up after her.

Well there was no way I was going to let them get away with ruining my one way home. I followed after them.

"Hey! Come on! It's not safe!" I looked up to see afro guy shouting at the pink haired woman .

 _'Oh, and fighting a mechanical scorpion is…?'_ I mentally as I got on top of the train, I saw that the pink haired woman had drawn her weapon, cerulean eyes glaring intently at the robot, scanning for weak spots.

Afro man fell over on his back at the sight of the scorpion. "Hey, HEY! Let's be rational now!" He shouts inching backwards to where I was. I looked down at him and then looked up in time to see the scorpion swing his tail at us. I rolled to the side while the other man rolled the other way rolled backwards, the pink haired woman executed a somersault in midair.

"He's drawing the big guns! Now what do we do?!" Afro man shouts exasperated.

"Watch and learn!" The pink haired woman replied, glaring at the mechanical scorpion before launching herself towards it.

 **BATTLE COMMENCE**

The pink haired woman attacked the mechanical scorpion head on, directly attacking the head. The only sound that could be heard was the clashing of metal against metal. Afro man and I looked at each other; he shrugged and then started to shoot at the robot. The man did slightly ridiculous moves that looked like he was dancing as he attacked it, while I shot at the tail hoping to break it off. A few minutes the mechanical scorpion was severely damaged judging by its jerky movements and sparks flying from it.

"Not so tough now, huh?!" Afro man yelled at the thing, laughing

The metal monster flew to the back of the train and started to shake the already damaged bridge.

"Fall back!" The pink haired soldier ordered

"Hey that wasn't like a challenge now, all right?! Hey!" Afro man called out at the thing. The Militarized Unit started to lift the train off the bridge.

"Run!" The woman commanded. We followed her order and ran down the jerking bridge.

"Jump!" I heard the pink haired woman yell jumping off the train.

"C'mon kid!" The man yelled soon after jumping off with me behind him.

The train falling to the darkness bellow as we safely landed. "You okay kid?" Afro asked his eyebrows furrowed in concern. I nodded breathlessly.

 **Clunk.**

We sharply turned our heads at the sound, the mechanical scorpion stood before us once more.

"This thing just won't give up!" Afro said as it went after us again. We loaded up our weapons and let loose a relentless assault.

 **BATTLE ENDS**

"We did it." Afro man breathed out as he sat down on the floor. The pink haired woman kneeled by the sides of the bridge, probably to check if the thing would pop out again, just as a few air ships flew by.

"Aren't you supposed to protect civilians, soldier?" Afro man asked. I looked up to see that she had started to walk away. "I mean you are sanctum right? What are you doing trying to stop the purge? Why don't you tell me that?" He asked as he stood up.

She stopped and turned her head slightly to look at him, "I was a soldier." She coldly replied and walked off.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" He yelled after her. The woman ignored him and continued on her way. He sighed, the Chocobo from before flying out of his hair. It chirped and landed on his outstretched hand. "Chocobo, we just can't seem to catch a break can we?" He asked the chick. The Chocobo chirped in return "Yeah that's a good question." He said as he started to climb down after the pink haired soldier, grumbling about how he was too old for this.

* * *

So far we have encounter PSICOM soldiers everywhere we went.

"Not wanting to get purged I get, but taking on trained soldiers?" Afro questioned as we kept watch on the PSICOM warden.

"Better to die than to get sent to Pulse. It's hell." The former soldier answered. The PSICOM warden pushed some buttons on his arm device and two Pantherons jumped out of the portal.

"Yeah well hell's not sounding too bad. 'Cause this place ain't exactly paradise." He countered as he looked around.

How dare they talk about Pulse like that! Sure there are monsters that want to kill you every day, but that's no reason to insult my home.

"Domesticated peacekeepers, nothing to worry about." The pink haired woman assured.

"Maybe not for a Soldier Girl, but I'm trying to s-eh hey hey!" Afro man started but cut himself off when he noticed that the pink haired woman had ignored him. She darted forward towards the enemies with us following after her.

 **BATTLE ENDS**

I looked around as we kept walking, fighting more soldiers on the way. We reached a platform and I looked over the railing. There were a few people fighting a Beta Behemoth on the bridge below. The Behemoth, annoyed at being shot, lashed out angrily, easily killing the citizens fighting it.

"Murder. Cold-blooded murder." The former pilot murmured at the scene. I shook my head with indifference and followed after the ex-soldier. We had an encounter with another PSICOM soldier and a Pantheron.

"Preemptive strike" She declared slightly and dashed towards the enemies, but the Pantheron caught sight of her and snarled making the PSICOM warden turn around.

"Rebels!" The PSICOM warden exclaimed.

"So much for the element of surprise." Afro man grumbled, seeing as the surprise attack backfired.

"Maybe we shouldn't shout what we're going to do next time…" I concluded.

The pink haired woman shot me an annoyed glare before she then took care of the Pantheron while afro and I took on the PSICOM warden. It was getting annoying fighting these grunts.

As we moved forward I heard the sound of a zooming object. We looked up in time to see that an airship, on fire, was quickly taking speed towards the ground. We gasped as it fell on the path before us, making a huge explosion.

"Do we turn back?" Afro questioned seeing as we couldn't possibly cross now. He gulped watching in horror as people were falling off of the bridge as the airship had cut right through it, half of the bridge gone along with tons of people.

"There's no time." The pink haired woman shot back, her cerulean blues taking in the destroyed bridge.

"Then, what do we do?" I questioned, taking a step towards the woman.

"Quiet." The woman ordered. She walked towards the edge with narrowed blue orbs, eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully and her lips in a thin line. Then all of a sudden, she snapped her fingers. A blue light emitted from her hand. It spread all over her body and then her body started to lift itself from the ground.

"What the-?" I started but got caught off by the pilot as he latched himself to her to stop her from leaving.

"Hey- wait! No, no, don't leave me!" He shouted desperately at her as she fought her way out of his grasp.

"Let go!" She grunted as she put her hand on his face to push him away.

"Hell no, you're my only way out of here!" He responded, still attached to her with no intention of letting go.

She kicked him in the stomach and then elbowed him in the face. I didn't personally care what happened to them but she looked like she knows where she's going and if she can get me close to where I can find my own way back to Gran Pulse.

The woman started to snap her fingers again, but nothing happened. "Tch!" She scowled and looked towards the edge again.

"Hey that might get us across! Right there!" He says he stood on his knees, pointing at a nearby platform.

The pink haired woman walked towards him to look where he was pointing, "Looks that way." She answered. She glared at him, clearly annoyed and started off towards the platform. I walked behind her and stopped to look back at the man, who was now standing up holding his left arm. He started to limp slightly.

* * *

"So, Soldier… what's your angle?" The pilot questioned the pink haired woman. She didn't reply. "What, classified military info? hmm? What's it matter? You quit, didn't you?"

"The Pulse fal'Cie." She cut him off.

"What?"

"My 'angle'. I'm after the fal'Cie." She continued as she turned to look at him.

My eyes widened. _'What?! Going after the fal'Cie?! Is she crazy?'_ I stared at her as she walked towards the console. "Still happy you tagged along?" She questioned as the platform started to move.

"Didn't have a choice." The pilot whispered as the platform made its way to the other side of the bridge.

"What about you, kid?" He asks me seeing that the woman wasn't going to say anymore.

I blinked at him, "My angle? I'm trying to get home."

He sighed sadly, "Aren't we all?"

The sounds of airships and gunshots were heard. I wonder why she was after the fal'Cie. Humans who encounter Pulse fal'Cie are cursed by being turned to l'Cie. _'How can a mere human possibly take on a fal'Cie? What were her reasons?_ '

"It's an all-out massacre." He was looking out the edge at an explosion happening on the bridge below. "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."

"That was the idea." She spoke up as she walked over and stood beside him.

"What?" The pilot asked surprised.

She looked over at him "Sanctum logic." She continued. "They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat." She kneeled by the sides of the platform and then stood back up as she spoke "I mean- why carry the danger all the way to Pulse? Why not just stamp it out here? Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."

The old man sighs, lets out a breathy chuckle and turns away from her. "Relocation to Pulse. How does a government get away with pulling crap like that?" He says as he started to pace, obviously angry.

I was already aware of the fact that they sometimes send people of Cocoon to Pulse ever since the War of Transgression.

"And you- you knew this was gonna happen?" He asks addressing the former soldier, who shakes her head.

"The Purge was PSICOM. Private Sanctum troops not the Guardian Corps." She clarifies crossing her arms.

"PSICOM, Guardian Corps… Soldiers are soldiers, aren't they?" He continued. "Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state. Tell a soldier to kill an enemy… and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?"

"Might have mattered to that one." She replied. I looked over at the dead soldier on the floor close by with my arrow sticking out of his neck as she spoke. "Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."

They both walked over to the edge of the platform. "How about you? Hmm? Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?" The man asked the former soldier who didn't reply. "Fine, forget I asked." He says throwing his hands in the air when she remained silent.

Suddenly an alarm went off. Making us look around wondering what was happening.

"What's that?" The ex-pilot asked pointing upwards.

A glowing green light emitted from the ceiling as it split open.

 **"** _ **Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon."**_ A voice echoes around us as an airship started to lower some kind of structure surrounded by more airships from the opening in the ceiling. **"** _ **Should you attempt to flee; the Sanctum will employ every resource necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once."**_

"Just what you were looking for." He said to the pinkette crossing his arms.

"Yeah, right in there." She replied nodding towards the moving structure.

"Is that…" I trailed off moving to stand beside the woman. I watched on as multiple airships carry the large towering cross-shaped structure made of scrap metal slowly across Hanging Edge.

"Yeah, the Pulse fal'Cie." The pilot finished for me. "So, how do you figure that Pulse fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" He asks the former soldier as she kneels by the sides of the platform to see which path would lead to where the airship was leading the Pulse fal'Cie. The man continues looking at his pet chocobo, who was standing on his outstretched hands. I walked over and petted it on the head slightly with the tip of my finger. It chirped in return and I smiled. Seeing the little chick reminded me of the large ones back home. It flew over to my hands and I giggled slightly as it chirped again.

The woman backed away from the edge and looked over at us. "Time to jump." She says and then starts running.

"Hey, hey! Hang on!" I heard the pilot beside me cry out holding his hand out too late to stop the woman from diving to her possible death.

The chocobo flew out of my hand as we watched her getting closer to the ground. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and a blue light spread all over her body. She flipped and landed safely. A circle of blue electricity was left from where she had previously landed.

"Damn." I heard him mutter. "What now?"

"Better hurry before it wears out." I muttered backing up a bit before I dived after the pinkette. My eyes narrow as the wind rushed by me. My heart thundered in my chest in excitement as I neared the ground. I twisted my body my in perfect timing and landed in a crouched position and walked over to the pink haired woman moving out of the way just in time for afro guy to land in the spot.

-0-

* * *

' **CLUNK! CLANK!'**

I only stared out of boredom as the pink haired woman attacked the door that was stopping us from going any further again. The door was emitting a red glow in the form of a strange symbol.

"Still won't budge?" The pilot asked somewhat sarcastically from his place on the floor. "I think the door is winning." He added standing up. She's been going at it nonstop for at least twenty minutes. I wouldn't have guessed this place was built like a maze that twisted and turned given the outside exterior. As beautiful and alien it looked on the inside, we agreed to keeping going forward and tried not to back track as much as possible in a place like this.

"Why didn't I listen?" The woman seemed to be talking to herself.

"Uh, beg your pardon?" The man asked confused.

She raises her hand to place it on the door, but stops and clenches her hand into a fist. "It was me. This is my fault." She continued.

"Beg your pardon?" The pilot tried again.

"Cover your ears." The woman commands.

"Oh, blast charge?" He stutters before backing up in a panic, "Hold on, hold on!" The man runs past me and hides behind my legs in a crouch, covering his ears. "All right, go for it! Make it happen!" He yells. Seriously, did he expect a kid like me to cover him? Isn't he supposed to be an adult? I turned my head slightly to see her with her hand on the door's surface, her head hanging down. To my surprise the door changed color and opened to her.

"What the- hey! What did- how'd you open it?" He asks running over to her seeing as there was no blast charge. She ignored him and started to walk forward. "Oh well, after you!" He sarcastically gestures to the open door.

I walked past him and turned around walking backwards. "C'mon old man!"

"Hey!" He called after me as I ran to catch up to the pink haired woman.

We fought a few militarized units as we moved on. "If those things are still around, might be some soldiers trapped in here, too. Except they'd probably be l'Cie right now. Not even human anymore." The pilot spoke up as we walked on one of the many pathways in the Pulse Vestige. "Just Pulse l'Cie. Enemies of Cocoon. Can't show 'em any mercy." He added.

I blinked once but continued on walking, "So…what…anyone you encounter from Pulse…you automatically make them an enemy? Just cause they're from Pulse?"

"That's right."

I held in a scoff, "So say you met an innocent child who escaped from Pulse because it's 'hell' do you show it mercy and allow it to live happily in peace on Cocoon or do you pull the trigger on an innocent child just because of where it's from?"

He looked startled even troubled by the question. "Well…I'd have to…"

I shook my head, "Bunch of whimps." I muttered.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Why are you so scared of Pulse anyway? They haven't attacked Cocoon in ages." At least I don't think they have. Since I've woken up, I've had little time to research if Pulse made any more attacks on Cocoon since the War.

He chose to ignore me, probably to 'mature' to get into an argument with a kid. "What's gotten into you, Soldier? I thought you came for a fight." He asked the pink haired woman when he noticed a slight change in her demeanor.

She stopped walking and spoke up, "My sister…" She trailed off. "She's a l'Cie."

"What? A _Pulse_ l'Cie?" The man asked walking towards her.

She nodded and continued, "The fal'Cie has her captive. But I'll find her." Now it made sense why she's on this suicide mission and why she stopped that train from taking me home.

"Is she still…?" He trailed off unsure of how to finish the sentence. She huffed lightly and began to walk again. "What was her focus?" The man asks running in front of her. "When she became a l'Cie, what did the fal'Cie ordered her to do? It wasn't 'blow up Cocoon' or anything like that, was it?"

The woman looks off to the side, her pale pink bangs falling over her eyes slightly. "I didn't ask."

We looked over at another door with the same strange symbol glowing red. It flashed brighter and when it was gone the door was opened.

"Listen to me." The man spoke up again. "When a person gets cursed by a fal'Cie, they become a l'Cie. Then they get given a Focus, right?" He paused, "How do I put this? If they don't carry it out, l'Cie end up as one of those things." He finishes nodding at the blue and grey grotesque creatures on the other side of the door. "What I'm saying is, if your sister's gone that far…" The woman narrowed her eyes and turned her back towards him. "I, I mean-! She might still-! How can I-?" He sighed. "Oh, man. There's no way to turn a l'Cie back into a human. Even if she completes her Focus, there's no changing her fate. She'll live a life as a fal'Cie slave. Don't make her suffer."

Her head snapped up in an instant, her eyes narrowing into a glare. She pushed him away as she spoke.

"Just say it! Any l'Cie… Anyone who might ever become a l'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon." She turns away from him and he looks down. "It's people like you that started the Purge in the first place." She finishes with another glare towards the pilot.

"So, that's a Cie'th, huh?" I asked looking over at the strange creatures before us. The pilot hummed in response to my question and we moved forward fighting off the Cie'th in our way. It's hard to believe this things use to be human.

As we went up the stairs we saw a figure in the middle of the room's floor. I squint my eyes to get a better look. The person that laid there on the floor was a girl pink hair just like the former soldier, except hers was pulled into a side-ponytail. She was wearing a red plaid pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, black thigh-high stockings, ivory ankle boots and she also had a black armband on her right bicep, like the former soldier.

"Serah!" The pink haired woman yelled when she caught sight of the girl on the floor. She ran up to her and quickly scanned her for injuries. When she saw none, she picked her up bridal style. "Time to go. We have to leave before the army- What?" She starts but cuts herself off when she caught the look the pilot was giving her.

"That's a Pulse brand." The pilot says nodding to the girl's branded arm. "That girl's a l'Cie."

"I already told you that" The woman replies with an annoyed look in her face, her brows knitted together.

"Pulse l'Cie are the enemy of Cocoon." The man says reaching down for one of his pistols.

My eyes widened. I looked over at the woman to see her eyes widened in surprise as well before she glared at him.

"So they should die?" She asks pulling her sister towards herself for protection. I stepped closer to them with my bow already in hand and my left reaching for an arrow. We're not necessarily comrades so I'll have no ill feelings if I have to kill him to keep him from killing her.

"Listen; if she fails her focus, you know how that'll end." The man replies, a solemn look on his face. "And killing her is a mercy?" She asks incredulously, her eyes in a fierce glare. She stops when a hand reached over to her face. She looked down to see her sister's cerulean blue eyes open, the girl's being a slightly darker shade than the soldier.

"You came." The girl said. The pink haired woman gasped slightly and kneeled to lower the girl gently to the floor.

"Serah!" A voice called from behind us. I turned around to see a man with light blond hair, blue eyes, and a stubble beard running towards us. He was wearing a black bandanna, black gloves, large gray boots, a light blue vest over a black shirt, and a striped blue scarf hanging from a belt. He also had a long beige trench coat. "Serah." He says again taking her hand in his.

"Is that… my hero?" She asked a small smile on her face. The soldier stared at the strange man with her eyes narrowed into a glare.

I looked behind me to see where on Pulse he could've come from and saw two more people approaching. A boy and a girl around the same age as me thank goodness because I'm glad that I'm not the only teenager in the in this group of misfits. The girl was dressed like she wasn't from around here; She had bright red hair tied in curled pigtails, green eyes, and pierced ears adorned with silver hoop earrings. Her appearance was somewhat tribal looking. She was wearing a light pink halter top, an orange and yellow skirt, beige boots and a fur pelt around her waist. She also had numerous bracelets, and beaded necklaces, along with an assortment of beads attached to various parts of her clothing. I had a feeling that she might've not been from Cocoon just by that fur pelt around her waist. Cocoon was more of a civilization with technology while Pulse was more wildlife and ruins.

The boy looked more like he was from around here; silver hair, blue-green eyes, short-sleeved orange and yellow jacket with a detailed green neckerchief over a black shirt, and black gloves with white palms. He had deep green cargo pants with a black storage pack hanging from a black belt over his left leg, and light green boots.

"Hands off." She demanded the blonde, "I'm taking her home."

"Sis, I-" The blonde man started but was interrupted by the pink haired woman.

"I'm not your sister!" She hissed, "You couldn't protect her. It's your fault she-"

"You can save us."

"Serah?" Asked the former soldier when she was interrupted by her sister.

"You can save us." Serah whispers, "Protect us all. Save… Cocoon." She finished weakly.

"Save Cocoon? Serah? That was your Focus?" The older pinkette questioned, though the girl didn't reply.

The blond man held her hand strongly, "Anything, I'll do anything. Leave it to me- you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon! I'll save everyone!" The blonde man promised.

The pink haired woman glared at him before looking down at her sister. "Somehow, I'll make things right." She told her.

"You just relax." Finished the blonde shooting her a small smile.

She smiled weakly before she started to glow. "…thank you…"

"Serah!" The former soldier cried out as her sister's body started to levitate into the air and out of her grasp. I looked away from the scene as the girl's body started to crystallize. A lone crystalized tear escaped from her eye and fell into the blonde man's hand.

"Serah! Serah!" He cried out as he reached out to her.

"Why is she turning to crystal?" The redhead now beside me asked her hands clasped together in front of her chest.

"L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life." Replied Hope as we all turned to look back at the scene.

"Just like the stories say." Spoke up the pilot.

"Serah… Sweet dreams." The blonde man wished as the crystalized body of the girl lowered itself on to the ground. At that the pink haired woman sharply turned her head towards him.

"Sweet dreams? She's not sleeping!" She yelled at him as she grabbed the front of his shirt. "Serah's… She's-" She let go of the man's shirt unable to finish the sentence.

"She's alive!" He insisted.

The woman glared at him. "No."

"The legend! Remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!" The blonde man cried out and everyone lowered their gaze solemnly.

"She may as well be." I told him looking at the crystalized girl, "Spending an eternity as an immobile crystal is no different than death. She was cursed between eternal damnation as a Cie'th or eternal imprisonment as crystal…"

"Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever!" He clenched his hand into a fist. "I don't care how many years I have to wait-" Our eyes widened as the pink haired woman cut the man off by punching him in the face.

"It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!" She yelled at him.

Silence followed but suddenly the ground started to shake and the boy fell to his knees covering his ears.

"What now?" The redheaded girl spoke up.

"The army." The pilot answered as the ground kept shaking. "They're bringing it down!"

The pink haired woman and the blonde man covered the crystalized Serah with their own bodies as rocks crumbled down from the ceiling.

"What?" The redhead asked looking around.

"I think is a Sanctum strike." I told her as I kneeled down to keep myself from falling over with all the quaking and shifting.

"They're going to bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie with it!" Afro continued.

"Aren't they taking it back to Pulse?!" The redhead asks desperately, grabbing onto the older man and vice versa to keep each other balance. "That's what the Purge was, right?!"

"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon. Dead or alive, it's all the same." After he said that the girl backed away from him, a slight flicker of fear in her emerald green eyes.

"We can't stay here!" The boy cried out. Literally. You can hear the tears in his voice, "They'll kill us!"

I was about to suggest that we leave immediately when suddenly the shaking stopped and a door on top of a staircase opened. I had a feeling that at least one of us planned on going in there.

"I'll be right back. Hold on." The tall blonde whispered to Serah before backing away and start towards the staircase.

"Trench coat." The pilot called out to him. "Where you going?"

"Date with the fal'Cie." He replied. "Got some things to talk about."

"What? You're gonna ask _it_ to help _her_?" We all looked at Serah with pity. "Are you out of your mind, kid?" The pilot asked throwing his hands in the air. "That thing wants to _chew us up and spit us out_!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?!" The man exclaimed turning to look at the pilot. His passion for this woman was strong but even he must face the fact that there's no way to turn her back.

The pink haired woman sighed and then made her way over to the staircase. The blonde man watched her go. "Lightning?" He asked before going after her.

 _'Lightning?'_ I wondered as I stared at their retreating figures.

"Here we go." I turned my head towards the voice to see afro shaking his head and make his way to the staircase as well.

I looked to the only people in my age group, "Are you two coming or…?"

The redhead head looked down at the boy, "C'mon, you want to talk to him, right?" She encouraged softly, "C'mon, we have to keep up, yeah? Up we go!" She said brightly nudging him.

A few Cie'ths were in our way, but we easily took care of them since there were more of us.

"So, this is… the fal'Cie." He says as we entered a dark room filled with little specks of lights, before us sat dormant the fal'Cie…the mechanical being… Anima.

"Serah's a crystal now." The blond states standing before the machine. "You gave her a Focus and she did it! You got what you want! Now let her go!" The blonde man exclaimed at the fal'Cie, which remained motionless. "Please." He begged as he fell to his knees. "Turn her back! I'll be your l'Cie instead!" He shouted holding his hand over his heart.

Still no response. Then again we never really expected one.

"Fine, you go on begging." Lightning said as she drew her gunblade from her weapon holster. "Like this _thing gives a damn about what we want_!" She shouted attacking the fal'Cie. The clash of metal against metal echoed around the room. In one of the strikes, the weapon bounced from the fal'Cie's shield from the force of the hit.

"Lightning!" The blonde man exclaimed when the woman staggered backwards slightly.

"It's this thing's fault the Purge started, and it's people who are dying." Lightning said, panting lightly. "Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to **die**!"

As she finished that sentence lights began to light up the darkened room, signaling that the fal'Cie had woken up. Tendrils began to pop out from the floor and the shield where the fal'Cie resided split open and out came a mechanical being with a glowing crystal core.

"What the-!" Afro exclaimed at the image before him.

I heard the boy next to me gasp in fear before turning tail and ran away like a coward. He didn't get far though because as soon as he tried to make a break for the only door a red seal appeared on the door, blocking him and the rest of us from leaving.

"Punk kid." I spat at him for even thinking of trying to abandon us to fight this thing alone. Just for that he should die with us. I made up my mind and started to make my way over to the others. They were ready to fight and so was I. I took my spot in between Lightning and Trench coat guy.

The latter shot me a glance from the corner of his eye. "Are you sure?" He asked me, slight concern in his voice.

"Do you have a plan?" I retorted with utmost confidence. I've faced bigger and uglier things than this.

He must've heard it because he chuckled while getting into a fighting stance. His only weapon were his fists, "Real heroes don't need plans."

Rolling my eyes in his arrogance, I drew my arrow and took aim at the purple crystal in the center, the weakness surely, "Anybody got a _good_ plan?"

"Got these things." The pilot pulled out his pistols and stood at Lightning's right, "I hope you guys don't mind an amateur."

The blonde man was the first to move. He immediately went for Anima ignoring the two appendages at its sides. He managed to land a hit before the mechanical being slashed at him with the clawed arm attached to its body. He was pushed back gritting his teeth in pain and when he regained his composure he went in again. I shot at its crystal core along with the pilot, but it protected itself with its clawed arm.

The blonde man was thrown back again not by Anima but by the mechanical arms that hovered close to Anima's main body.

The woman dashed forward towards the tendril on the left. "Go for the manipulators!" The former soldier yelled as she attacked said object. The blonde man looked over at her and did as she said running over to her and attacking the same appendage as her. I looked over at afro and we both nodded. We attacked the manipulator on the right and dodged when it attacked us back. One attack came particularly close on my right side but I threw myself to the side just as the pillar crashed to the ground. When it levitated again it left a sizzling imprint.

We kept at it and soon both appendages vanished. Then we turned towards Anima. The mechanical being's crystal core started to glow a clear blue. The blonde man looked over at afro and me, and nodded. We nodded back and started to shoot at the crystal core as the other too attacked it head on. I was pretty confident that we would win this over soon, until the manipulators reappeared out of thin air again. My eyes widened in surprise and I took a step back.

"It can regenerate?" I asked breathless as the fal'Cie attacked more fiercely this time. We were taking some damage by its relentless assault. In between attack turns we would toss each other potions that we acquired during our travels into the Vestige.

"Watch out!" Came a yell from the redhead who was standing by Hope watching the fight from the entrance. I looked over at her curiously to see her looking at something behind me with fear written across her face. I had enough time to see Hope with the same expression, before I was blown back with the others by Anima's magic. I landed roughly and gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me. Spots danced in my vision as I clenched my teeth tightly, trying to regain my bearings. They distracted me! If they weren't going to help they should keep quiet!

I managed to lift my head slightly to look over at the others. The two manipulators had vanished again and they were attacking Anima's glowing crystal core. If that thing regenerates again we're done for!

"No!" Lightning growled with frustration when Anima regenerated.

"This isn't working!" Afro stressed.

I rejoined the group, "We've got to hit it with everything we've got. There are four of us and the more we take down those manipulators the weaker they get. Two of us go after the manipulators while the other two go after the core!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Trench coat shouted going directly to one of the manipulators while Afro shot at the other one.

"Watch my back." Lightning demanded charging in to hack away at the core. When Trench coat and Afro finished the manipulators they went to the core to help Lightning and that's when I took notice of something. A crack was beginning to form on the core and it was getting longer with each strike. I pulled another arrow and took careful aim at the crack. When the others were knocked back by Anima's arm I released the arrow and it embedded itself right into the crack causing a bright light that blinded us all.

When the light subsided and we were able to somewhat see again thanks to a floating crystal. If that wasn't strange enough we were all floating with large rings spinning slowly around us.

The sound of bells and someone singing echoed around.

"Where are we?" Lightning breathed out looking around.

"What's going on?" The blonde man asked in confusion as well.

Then all of a sudden a light beamed from what I assumed was the floor. It shot through the crystal and out came a giant mechanical being. We all gasped at the ginormous creature floating before us.

My eyes widened in fear as glowing blue wires flew towards us. They grabbed us by the arms, waist and legs, making it impossible to get free. I struggled to break the tendrils, but it was pointless. I could only watch as another set of glowing blue cords flew towards us. One hit Lightning on the chest before she passed out. The pilot was next, the cord hitting him in the same place as the former soldier before he too passed out. Then another flew towards the blonde man and latched on to his left arm. I looked up at the being's face before one of the glowing wires flew towards me. I grunted as I struggled once again to get away. I helplessly watched as the wire came closer with great speed. I closed my eyes tightly and felt my right hand burn. I cried out and the wires finally released me with the others.

Fast images began to play in my mind. I couldn't really tell what it was or what was going on. I could only see a monster with many arms… explosions of fire and I think ice with arms wrapping around something? I think had something to do with the destruction of Cocoon.

* * *

End of chapter 1. So despite the hate Final Fantasy 13 often gets I decided to do a rewrite already fully written out until my computer decides to format it again. I know the basics of Final Fantasy (Basically the bishi boys) and Final Fantasy 7 is high up there as the best but Final Fantasy 13 was the first I ever bought and played. Yes it's linear and the plot is basically a lost cause but I love the characters and the graphics and that's all I ever really want out of a game anyway. So thanks so much everyone for taking the time to read and I will be posting chapter 2 shortly.


	2. Lake Bresha

All recognizable characters and main plot is owned by Square Enix! Thank you and good-bye!

 **Chapter 2:**

 _'This is the life.' Laying in the warm sun near the cool water…listening to the mighty waterfall and the pleasant sound of Chocobos frolicking without a care in the world is truly a wonderful thing._

 _"Hey! Lazy-butt!" I groaned in annoyance when I heard one of my fellow hunting companions. Sometimes I wish this place was more hidden than it was. "You've **got** to see what my boyfriend got for me on his hunt!"_

 _Very reluctantly I opened my eyes to look at her. The Chocobo I was napping on ruffled his feathers, obviously as disturbed as I was. "What?"_

 _She twirled around in place and struck a cute pose, "Well? Can't you tell by looking at me?" She giggled cupping her left ear with her left hand and touching her chest with her right. I perked an eyebrow at her. "Ugh! You're so dense sometimes! My boyfriend got me a few accessories! Flameshield Earrings, a Sparkbane Brooch, and a Gale Ring!" She squealed happily flashing her new accessories, "All compliments of Taejin's Tower!"_

 _"And he didn't die?" I asked her a little surprised. Taejin's Tower wasn't a placed to play around in…actually there are a lot of places on Gran Pulse you can't play around in._

 _"Of course not! My honey-behemoth is indestructible!" She cooed loudly making the Chocobo shift with irritation under me. I softly petted him to sooth him._

 _"You know if you spent less time napping with Chocobos and actually interact with other hunters you would understand a little more."_

 _The Chocobo squawked with indignant. I stroked its neck, "What's wrong with Chocobos?"_

 _"Nothing." She said quickly, "But don't you want to meet someone one day? To get married?"_

 _"And give up hunting King Behemoths and Megistotherian? Never."_

 _She sighed, "Come on…this war can't go on forever…there's more to life than fighting for survival…"_

 _I stubbornly turned my back to her, "Wishful thinking…Life is all about fighting…and I will survive." While still on my side I shifted my eyes to look at Cocoon floating high above. '…I will live…and survive…'_

* * *

"Serah!" A sudden shout, filled with longing, forced me back to the present. Trench coat was sitting upright, his hand outstretched, surprise etched on his face.

Slowly everyone started to come around, slowly gaining their bearings enough to stand up.

"Is this… for real?" He asks in disbelief.

I blinked and looked around me. My eyes widened at the sight. Everything was crystalized as far as I could see. "Whoa…" I caught sight of the Pulse Vestige a little far from where we were.

"This must be… Lake Bresha?" I heard the pilot's voice speak up unsure. He looked up to see the remaining wreckage of a broken bridge, "I guess we fell from up there, and the lake turned to crystal?" He assumed before he started panicking which was the last thing that we needed. "Help me out here! I mean did the fal'Cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?" He asked looking at Lightning who turned away from him.

"How should I know?" She answered her tone sounding like, don't-look-at-me-like-I-did-it.

I looked over at them and then up at the ceiling. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto my left side. _'How the hell did we manage to survive a fall like that?'_

"We're alive. How?" I heard the redhead spoke up. I turned my head to look at her to see her kneeling on the crystallized floor with her hands clasped together in front of her chest.

"Serah!" Cried out the tall blonde almost scaring the hell out of me. "No one survives a fall from that high, not without a miracle. Serah saved us!"

"Serah?" Asked Lightning, irritation in her tone, "Listen, it's all your fault she got-" But she wasn't able to finish as a big crystal looking Cie'th made its way towards us.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" The pilot cried out crawling on his hands and knees to get away. Lightning turned around in time to see the Cie'th raise its arm above its head, ready to strike.

"Watch out!" Yelled the blonde man as he ran over to her to protect her from the Cie'th. The Cie'th brought its giant arm down upon the large man, but Snow crossed his arms above his head, effectively blocking the blow. Suddenly a blue light emitted from the blonde as he swung a punch through the Cie'th, throwing it a few feet away.

"What did I… just do?" The tall blonde asked, holding his branded wrist.

"You used magic!" Hope exclaimed just as a pair of Cie'th wandered towards us. "You used the power of a l'Cie. The fal'Cie cursed us! We're l'Cie now!"

"Right." I heard Lightning mutter as she took her gunblade from its weapon holster, turning it into its blade form. The Cie'th that the tall blonde had punched slowly stood up and limped towards us with the other two.

I stood next to Lightning and the blonde man. The pink haired woman was commando, blondie and I used our new magic powers. It was only a matter of seconds before the Cie'th were down. _'So, this is the power of a l'Cie.'_ I thought as I looked down at my right hand, staring hatefully at the brand. I ripped off a piece of my sarong and tied it over my brand.

I looked up to see the blonde man staring at his left arm. "So we really are l'Cie." He said, making the pink haired soldier roll her eyes.

The pilot sighed making me look over at him. On his chest was the Pulse l'Cie brand. "Looks like it." He muttered looking down at his chest.

"You too?" The blonde asked looking towards the redhead.

"Yep, right here." She answered and lifted her skirt enough to show the brand on her left thigh.

"Okay." The blonde muttered awkwardly.

"L'Cie to the last." The pink haired woman said just as Hope fell to his knees.

"Why me?" Hope said looking down his eyes filled with agony. He then looked up sharply at the pink haired woman, who only crossed her arms as he yelled. "I don't even know you! But you have to go and attack that thing?" He looked around at the others, who only looked away from him guiltily. "Just leave me alone!" He shouted before turning to Trench coat, "It's your fault- it's your fault my-! You could've-" He trailed off clenching his fist, before standing abruptly. My eyebrows knitted together as I looked at him. Angered flashed in his light blue green eyes as he glared directly at the blonde man. "All of this is your and Serah's fault!"

"Watch it!" The blonde man exclaimed, making him fall on his butt. He started to crawl backwards and stopped when his back came in contact with something. He looked up from his place on the floor, only to see Lightning glaring at him with her hands crossed across her chest. He moved away from her, obviously scared and placed his hands over his ears.

"Sorry." The blonde man said addressing the cowering boy.

The redhead moved forward and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Everything is going to be all right. You'll see." She told him in a reassuring tone, smiling at him before helping him up.

I stared at them and huffed when they began to walk away. ' _Well now we know who the weak link is…'_

"l'Cie, huh…" Trench coat sighed staring at his brand.

Afro stretched his arms over his head, "Yep, we're playing Team Pulse now." He kicked at the tiny crystal shards on the ground in frustration, "Argh! Why me!"

I walked past him and slapped him on the back, "Get over it old man! What's done is done, let's get moving."

"Moving?" He repeated stopping me from going further down that only carved path around here, "Where to? Do you have any idea where to go or what to do?"

I shrugged my shoulder, "Anything is better than standing around here twiddling our thumbs."

Lightning strutted in between us, "Our Focus." She states walking a few paces ahead before turning around, "If we don't know our Focus, how do we complete it?"

We all looked at her before the redhead spoke up. "I think… I saw it." She said looking down.

"Saw what?" Lightning asks her.

She looked a little hesitant to answer.

"That is what a Focus comes down, people." The pilot began. "The fal'Cie? They don't spell it out with clear-cut instructions. All you get is a hazy glimpse." We all turned towards him suspiciously, wondering how he would know such things. "Well, that's what they say." He stammered, "You know, legends and all." He continued putting his hands on his hips. "Hm-hm legends…" He mumbled.

Lightning turns towards the younger boy, "Did you see anything?"

He instantly started to move away from her, most likely scared of her since he can't even look her in the eyes, "I uh- I just… It's all kind of foggy, but… I saw this big- I mean towering-" He trailed off.

I looked at him with my eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully, "I... I think I saw the same thing. It had a lot of arms right?"

"W-wait a minute." We all turned towards the pilot as he spoke up. "Hold on now. Did we all have the same dream?"

"Ragnarok." The blonde man and Lightning said simultaneously.

"So we all saw the same dream." Spoke up the pilot.

The silver haired boy spoke up, "You mean that was our Focus? But how are we supposed to know what to do from that?" He rolled his eyes wondering how we were going to tackle such an impossible task.

"That's the tricky part." I heard the redhead's accented voice beside me. "The dreams are the only hint the fal'Cie gives us. Figuring out what to do with it- that's our job!" She pumped both of her hands with determination as if it was supposed to inspire confidence within us.

"Okay, okay…" The pilot said starting to pace slightly. "We're Pulse l'Cie, right? Enemies of Cocoon! So, does that mean that our Focus is-? Are we supposed to-?"

If what he was suggesting is true then I have no problem trying to destroy Cocoon. It was probably Cocoon's fault that I was here in the first place.

"Save her." Interrupted the tall blonde.

"Say what?" Afro asked, clearly confused.

"Our Focus is to protect Cocoon."

Yeah I don't like that plan.

"Really? Okay, why's that?" The redhead asked not completely disregarding his answer but wanting to hear more of why he thinks our Focus is to protect Cocoon.

"Serah told us." He answered. "Let's do it. We're all in this together." If that was supposed to motivate us…that was a terrible attempt. "I'm gonna look for Serah. She ought to be nearby." He finished before running off.

"I'll come too." The redhead yelled running after him. "Wait!" She cried waving her arms.

"Geez! That boy can't stand still!" The pilot said scratching the back of his head as he started to make his way after the other two.

"Really…" Hope agreed before he too started to go after the others.

I looked at Lightning once before setting into a light jog to catch up with the others. _'This is going to be quite the adventure…'_

It didn't take us long to catch up with the others, and we all allowed Lightning to lead the way. I supposed she would feel better if she was in charge. We unanimously agreed to find a way out of this crystal hell before we worry too much about figuring out our Focus. Unfortunately finding a way out was easier said than done and all these Cie'th lurking around wasn't making our job any easier.

"There are a lot of those things around." Pilot panted tiredly, using magic must be taking a lot out of him.

I placed an unused arrow back into my quiver, "That might be a good thing. With our new magic abilities it's good for us to practice and improve." I turned my gaze pointedly to the boy, "Especially you." He seemed shocked that I pointed him out. "If you're going to be in the back so much at least cover us while we're risking our necks fighting."

"But-I…I don't…"

"You don't want to die, right?" He shook his head. "Then use those spells to protect us and yourself."

The redhead twiddled her fingers together, "Maybe we should form teams when we fight!"

We all looked around at each other. It didn't seem like a bad idea. We all nodded in agreement, teams it is. Now how to form teams? Based on age? Skill? Experience?

"What skills do we have?" Afro asks looking at Lightning, "I'm sure a soldier like you has plenty of battle experience."

Lightning crossed her arms, "We use the term Commando." So she can use magic and direct attacks.

Trench coat pounded his fists together, "In my gang I'm quite the Tank."

And just like that we started assigning roles to each other based on strengths and weaknesses. We also set up teams and decided that depending on whatever situation we find ourselves in we would set different teams and switch up in battle when necessary. We used each battle we've encounter to our advantage, each battle we grow stronger and learn new ways to control our magic. Afro and I even learned how to combine magic with our weapons while everyone else used their hands.

The more we fought the more Trench coat got excited. _"_ We fight it! Ragnarok!" The blonde man exclaimed clenching his hand into a fist. Our party stopped to listen to his sudden outburst and I stepped backwards when he jumped off a crystal hill he had been standing on to avoid any flailing limbs that might be elicited from his passionate speech. "That's the reason we're l'Cie. To stop it – to keep Cocoon safe!"

"Yeah, why don't you give us one reason to believe that?" The pilot asked him holding up a finger. "One reason."

"Serah." The tall blonde responded without hesitation.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes and head in exasperation. _'It's nice that he cares about her and all but she's not the answer to all our problems.'_

"She said to protect Cocoon and then she turned to crystal. That's the proof right there. She completed her Focus! That means ours is to save Cocoon. Serah's fal'Cie was the same as ours. Our Focus has got to be the same. We were chosen to be guardians - to defeat Ragnarok! It makes sense!"

Serah did turn to crystal after she said to protect Cocoon. But why would Pulse fal'Cie give that kind of Focus?

"The hell it does!" The pilot exclaimed throwing his hands into the air. "You're grasping at straws, son! _Pulse fal'Cie are Cocoons enemies_. We just got recruited by one of them." Walking towards the tall blonde, the pilot continued. "If I were a betting man… I'd put us on the other side."

"So, Serah's an enemy too? Well I don't buy it!" The tall blonde snapped at afro before walking in Lightning's direction, probably hoping to convince her, "We have the power to save Cocoon. If we work together and carry out our Focus- "

The blonde was interrupted by Lightning when she took out her gunblade and pressed it to his throat.

"Our Focus?" The former soldier asked incredulously. "The fal'Cie took Serah from us and you want to help it?! Whose side are you on?!"

"Freeze!" We all gasped as a group of PSICOM soldiers stood in front of us. The sound of weapons reloading made me turn around and I noticed we were surrounded. Two soldiers stood behind us.

"Place your hands behind your heads!" One of them ordered.

We grudgingly obliged only Lightning hesitated before letting her gunblade fall to the crystallized ground and placed her hands behind her head like us.

"You fall of the Purge train?" One of the soldiers asked sarcastically, walking towards us with his gun resting on his shoulder.

"Maybe." Lightning answered, nonchalantly.

This resulted in the PSICOM soldier marching towards her angrily. "Are you talking back to me?" He waved the gun to her face, "Huh?!"

 _'Oh, crap…'_ I thought as I saw the woman tilt her head to look at the soldier, her lips coiling into a dangerous smirk. The PSICOM soldier, not realizing what he was getting himself into, pressed the gun closer to the pink haired woman's face. "Huh?!"

"Nice gun." The woman replied sarcastically with a smug smirk before easily disarming the soldier. She elbowed him in his masked face and then proceeded to pull the man's feet from under him. She flipped him over and sent him flying towards the troop of soldiers with a kick. The troops were startled as they didn't expect the woman to lash out like she did.

"Stop her! Freeze!" The soldiers exclaimed after regaining their composure, and pointed their weapons at the woman. Lightning stepped on the handle of her gunblade, sending it flying in the air. She jumped up, and as if in slow motion, she took a hold of the gunblade. She turned her body in midair and fell into a perfect crouch, thrusting her weapon into the soldier in front of her. She then, seeing as she was surrounded, ran out of the circle of men to put distance between them. When she stopped she did a hand motion for them to come at her.

The tall blonde and the redheaded girl stood beside Lightning to help her out. Lightning wasted no time and got into action. She easily took one of the soldiers out by pushing her weapon into his chest. She whirled around when she sensed one of them come at her from behind. She quickly slashed the gunblade on the man's abdomen and turned to another soldier.

I turned my head to look at the other two, who were holding their own pretty well. They were casting magic spells to any soldier approaching them.

"I thought they'd be tougher than that." The pilot commented leaning down to look at one of the dead soldiers. "These guys are PSICOM, yeah? Supposed to be cream-of-the-crop." He added waving a hand in front of the dead soldier's face. The redhead stood beside him, her hands in a strange gesture and her eyes closed, almost as if she was praying.

"Yeah, but PSICOM's an anti-Pulse task force." The tall blonde responded, walking over to the two. I guess the fight was over. "Haven't fought a war in centuries. Bunch of rookie troops swinging around overpriced toys."

"So, from what you're telling me, it sounds like a regular old soldier… has got more training than special forces." The pilot stated.

"Nothing for us l'Cie to be afraid of." The tall man replied in a confident manner.

"Cut the crap." Lightning snapped at the blonde. "Their grunts might be green, but PSICOM's elites are cold-blooded beasts. They hit the field and it's game over."

The tall man and Lightning stared at each other. The blonde appeared to be shocked at what the woman had said, while the former soldier just glared at him.

"Oh-oh! Then let's run away!" She struck a girly pose while pointing in the direction we should run, "Ciao!" The redhead exclaimed cheerily before running.

"Hey-wait!" The pilot exclaimed lifting a hand. The chocobo chick flew from its nest in his hair and landed in his palm, chirping as it struck the same pose as the girl just did. "What's a man to do?" He mutters.

"We better go before she hurts herself." I suggested to the others. They nodded simultaneously before we started walking again.

"Weird isn't it? Of all the messed up ways to meet… Might as well make introductions." No one made an effort to introduce themselves first so he took it upon himself to break the ice, "I'm Snow. Snow Villiers." He nods to the young boy, "Short stuff?"

"Hope. Hope Estheim."

I held in a scoff when I heard his name. His name was Hope and yet he didn't have a lot of it on this adventure. "I'm Eria." I introduced. "Eria Vallis." On Gran Pulse our last names come from places on Pulse we hail from. I was born in Vallis Media thus my last name would be Vallis. Our people do this as a way to be more connected with Gran Pulse.

The redhead spoke up. "What about her?" She asked nodding towards Lightning.

"Bodhum Security Regiment. She goes by 'Lightning'." Snow answered her, crossing his arms across his chest. "Last name's Farron. First? Anybody's guess. What about you?"

"Vanille." The redhead told him with a smile.

"Sazh Katzroy. Good to meet you." The pilot said nodding as he watched Vanille and Hope walk ahead. "It's not right. Why'd kids have to get dragged into this?" He asked sighing.

"I'll keep the kids out of trouble." Snow spoke up pointing a finger towards himself.

Sazh laughed slightly, placing a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Problem with that is you're one of them."

"Hey." Snow said, somewhat offended. I chuckled as I walked past him. "That one acts older than she really is."

"Trying to take on the Pulse fal'Cie…that was our first mistake. Should've left it to the Sanctum."

I tuned out of the conversation when Vanille turned around and started to jump enthusiastically, waving her hand. _'Seriously, how can she be this perky with all the things that happened? Then again she might be doing that as a distraction '_ I thought raising an amused eyebrow. She then took Hope's hand and made him wave with her. "… _never mind…maybe she really is that naïve… '_

* * *

Not far ahead, we encountered a group of mechanical canines. Such enemies were standard for the Sanctum, and posed no real threat to us. The Sanctum had been creating bioweapons from living creatures combined with technology. The combination gave the military full control over such creatures, and they were a sight to behold when utilized in force.

"The train fell down too. I wonder what else is down here…" Vanille wondered as we were now walking on top of the fallen Purge train. We had fought a few Cie'th along with PSICOM soldiers and Breshan Bass… man those things were ugly.

I was walking behind Lightning when suddenly, she stopped and I heard her gasp quietly. Confused, I follow her gaze to a crystal structure. "Serah." Lightning said as she began to make her way over to her crystallized sister, but Snow beat her to it.

"Serah! I'll get you out of there!" The tall blonde stated, taking a hold of the girl's hand. He moved away from the girl to take a chunk of metal nearby. Kneeling in front of Serah, he started digging her out of her crystal prison. Soon, Sazh and Vanille got down on their knees and picked away at the crystal.

I silently debated with myself whether I should help them out or not. The girl was a crystal now, what was he planning to do after he got her out? Carry her all the way to wherever we were going?

"This is good-bye."

I looked over at her as she turned away and started to walk off.

"Lightning? You're just gonna leave her?" He asked incredulously.

"PSICOM will be here soon. If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah would want that? You think you know how she feels?" The pink haired woman replied and started walking again.

"If I leave her, then I'll never know." Snow called after her, making her stop. It's not like Serah can talk to tell them how she would feel anyway. "We'll be fine. I can handle anything they throw at us. No one will die. I'll protect Serah. And Cocoon!"

I cringed when the woman turned to face him. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously. Stiffening as she walked past me, I turned to see what her next move would be. She stopped in front of the man and glared at him for a moment before, throwing her hand back and knocking the man down with a punch to the face. I flinched slightly when the man knocked into Sazh.

"Does she look protected to you?!" The woman glared down at him.

Snow looked at her from the ground, before standing up stubbornly. "I can save her!" But he was thrown back down by another punch from Lightning.

"What can you possibly do?!"

"Whatever it takes!" The blonde man stated, about to stand up again. Lightning's fist loosened at the statement, before she faced away from him, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You two are hopeless." The pilot spoke up, putting his hands behind his head as he walked away. I followed after him since it would be pointless to stay here. "You just can't admit it. You want to stay as much as he does." The man said as he looked at Lightning. Suddenly a bright light fell upon the pilot. I blinked and followed where the light was emitting from. I twitched as I caught sight of the first Militarized Unit I had ever fought.

"No… no! No, no, no, not now!" The pilot screamed as he ran back to the others, dragging me behind him.

"Damn, how many times do we have to kill that thing?!" I hissed as the thing jumped down and turned to face us. Vanille shot me a curious look, before taking her weapon out.

I stepped forward, but stopped when Snow held his arm out. "Stand back!"

 **AFTER BATTLE**

We all stared at where the Militarized Unit used to be, until Lightning turned on her heel and walked away, but Snow stood in her way. "You're leaving?"

Sazh cautiously stepped forward, "We want to help Serah too." The old man spoke up sighing unsure how to word it nicely for Snow. "But without tools… we could be digging for days. The army's on our trail. For now, we've got to keep moving. For now."

"So I just abandon her and save myself?"

"What about your focus?" Lightning asked him, making him gasp quietly. "What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised? Now you want to forget it all and die right here? Snow? You're nothing but talk."

Snow kept his gaze on the ground as the woman faced away from him and started walking. He gritted his teeth. "Lightning!" He called after her, tightening his hands into fist. "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this Focus… _and_ keep Serah safe. That's my promise." He said, finally lifting his gaze from the ground, a determined look in his eyes.

"Great job so far." The woman coldly replied and walked off.

Sazh sighed as he stood before Snow, who shot him a smile. "Stay out of trouble."  
The old man sighed again and placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "You too."

Snow turned to face us and pointed behind himself. "Get going."

Vanille looked over at Hope slightly, before doing as the man said. "Later." He told her as she passed by him. "Okay."

Hope ran after her but stopped suddenly. He turned back around and moved to stand in front of Snow.

"Snow…" He trailed off.

"Save it for next time, kiddo." He winked at him. "You'll get left behind." Hope instantly reacted and looked at where the others had gone through. "But…"

"It's okay, Hope. Light will take care of you. We'll meet again." The tall blonde told him, grinning down at him.

"Yeah. Count on it…" The boy muttered, before going after the others.

I lightly punched Snow in the shoulder, "Give the army hell."

He chuckled as he rubbed his arm. "You too." He rubbed my head.

Picking up my pace a bit I caught up with the group. I sent a small prayer to Snow hoping that he would survive this crystal hell. It didn't feel right leaving him behind but the big guy would not leave his fiancé.

"I'm not happy about leaving the kid on his own," Sazh said, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, but it's his choice." I said.

"Do you think we should've... _made_ him come with us?" Vanille asked.

I shook my head, "Nothing would have made him leave Serah behind. But I don't envy him when PSICOM show up."

"Hey, maybe they won't find him," Vanille said hopefully.

Sazh snorted. "He's a bit hard to miss. Guess all we can do is pray he makes it out okay." Sazh started walking faster. "Come on, she'll leave us behind." Lightning was indeed far ahead of us, with Hope trailing behind her. As I hurried to catch up, I thought back to Snow's confrontation with her. She was grieving, certainly, but did she have to be _so_ hard on Snow? I knew Lightning was a practical woman, which much was made obvious when she left Serah and Snow to their fate. Survival was the name of the game here, and staying on that ridge was _not_ going to be good for our health. But the thought of Snow, still working his way through the crystal, was not an image I could easily banish.

We came across a large chasm in the crystal, with a large, black tube stretching across the gap.

"Seriously?" I said to Lightning, who agilely jumped onto the tube and began to cross. Vanille went next, hopping onto the tube.

"Okay, do not shake the slippery tube," Sazh said loudly from behind me. "We cool on this? Do _not_ shake the slippery tube!"

"It's only scary if you look down!" Vanille cried back to him. "You should close your eyes!"

"Yeah, because that will _definitely_ make this easier!" I called to her, her laughter being the only response I got. It wasn't as hard as it looked; the tube was wide enough that I was able to walk across easily. I heard unsteady gasping behind me and lo and behold Hope was struggling with finding balance on the tube. Seriously can this kid do anything? This is why I love Pulse it toughens you up and makes you strong. "Need help?"

He gasps as he looked up, "uh-" Gulping he looked down and he paled at the height, "N-no…I can do it."

Snatching his wrist anyway I pulled him along, "We have seconds not hours." I said tersely.

I stepped off the tube and Hope sighed with immense relief, only to see Lightning already moving.

"Still couldn't talk to him?" Vanille asks Hope when they stood side by side. "You'll never get past this if you don't say something."

"Words won't change anything," Hope said. "But next time we meet, he'll learn _exactly_ how I feel."

I puzzled over the exchange briefly, before deciding that whatever they were talking about they would share with us when they were ready.

Ahead of us was a long, wide bridge and at the end of it was a wall of crystal, blocking our path.

"Dead end," I said to Lightning, who stared at the crystal as if she could shatter it with her gaze.

"Hey!" I turned at Vanille's voice.

She was waving her arms and pointing at the wreckage of one of the Sanctum's warships.

"I don't think it's gonna work," I said after a quick look at its dented and cracked exterior.

"That will," Lightning said, indicating the attached gun. Lightning climbed up to the gun and swiped at it with her blade. The contact caused the gun to fire and the wall of crystal came crashing down.

"Nice work," I complimented her as she rejoined us. We crossed the bridge and went through a long crystal corridor which opened up onto a wide expanse of frozen waves.

In the center was a giant mechanical behemoth, with huge claws and sharp teeth. Its armor was green, and there were two long tendrils writhing from the base of its head.

"That could be a problem." Sazh stammered his legs quivering at the sight of the beast. No one could really blame him. Behemoths are stubborn creatures to fight-even harder to kill. The key to taking down monsters like this was to stagger it.

* * *

"I think I'm getting the hang of this whole magic thing," Sazh said as he holstered his pistols.

"Good," Lightning said, sheathing her own weapon. "We'll need to be stronger if we want to make it out of here in one piece."

From up ahead Vanille waved us down and pointed over a ridge. We stalked closer and when we saw a giant ship we immediately ducked down. It's a platoon of soldiers. In the center of a mass of PSICOM soldiers was a gigantic battleship, surrounded by smaller warships and cruisers.

"Look at that," Sazh said. "They're sending in cruisers. Primarch must be sweating bullets, mobilizing ships like that. They must be hunting down Purge survivors."

"I hope everyone made it out okay," Vanille said.

"So do I," Sazh replied. "But nowhere is safe for them now. Damn it!" He hung his head. "Just 'cause they shared a neighborhood with a fal'Cie... They get treated like Pulse-tainted rats."

"People really hate Pulse, don't they?" Vanille asked quietly.

"Not _hate_..." Sazh pulled himself into a kneeling position. "More like _fear_. Tens of millions of people all scared of Pulse boogeymen. They'd be shaking in their beds every night if they knew that l'Cie like us are around."

I'm kind of proud of that. Cocoon has been giving Pulse hell for generations, they should feel fear.

"But... they Purged that entire town!" Vanille cried.

"It's crazy, I know. But the Sanctum fal'Cie did nothing to stop it." Sazh's voice took on a depressed tone. "Up until now, Eden's always stepped in to correct their errors in judgment. Guess humans aren't worth the effort." He sighed. "Figure they'll let us just kill each other off."

Behind me, Hope stood. "L'Cie are not human."

Vanille also got to her feet and rounded on Hope. "Listen you, that's enough!" she said forcefully, grabbing his wrist. She stopped when she looked at the mark on Hope's wrist, and let him go, taking a few steps away from us.

"We're still alive," she said, trying to recapture her cheerfulness. "That's something."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and I braced myself.

"What-"

"Where is it?"

"I don't know-"

The five of us looked around, trying to determine the source of the earthquake.

"There!" Lightning looked up, several cruisers soared passed us. "They're sealing off the area! They're trying to trap the stragglers." She turned to us. "We've got to get moving before we're caught in the net.

We moved much more quickly now, and it wasn't long till we started seeing PSICOM soldier's patrolling the area. We avoided those where we could. It was too much to hope that a battle wouldn't attract others. We also began to encounter watchdrones and velocycles.

"Do you even know where you're going?" I called to Lightning as we climbed higher, leaping from ledge to ledge.

"Lake Bresha was surrounded by towns before the War of Transgression; I think the closest one is that way." She replied, pointing in the distance.

"What?" I cried incredulously. "That will be crawling with soldiers!"

"Exactly." She turned to me, a smile on her face. "It's also where they'll keep the ships. We can hijack one and get out of here."

"And go where?"

She didn't answer. If she had a destination in mind, which I doubted, she wasn't going to share it.

As we moved closer to what was left of the towns, more debris appeared in our path, sometimes even blocking routes and forcing us to detour around them. Most of these detours put us within range of the soldiers.

"How much further?" Sazh called, clambering breathlessly up yet another cliff.

"Can't be far, now," I answered. We ran along another cliff, and Vanille hurried ahead, exclaiming at the view. It was admittedly far better than anything else I had seen today and at higher ground like this, there was nothing obstructing our view. Everything in sight had been turned to crystal.

"The whole place is crystal!" Vanille exclaimed.

Sazh walked up to her, looking out at the crystal expanse. "I wonder what it would be like," He mused. "To become a crystal, I mean."

Vanille turned to him. "You're gonna complete your Focus?"

"Tsh…" Sazh shrugged. "Maybe, if I knew what it was. I probably don't want to know."

The rest of us were silent, all thinking the same thing: What if Snow was wrong?

"Hey, Lightning," Vanille started. "Did Serah say anything to you about her Focus?"

Lightning sighed and placed a hand to her chest. "Nothing," She said softly.

"Oh, you know what?" Vanille dashed in front of Lightning's grief-filled face. "She probably didn't want to worry you."

"Or she just... didn't think she could trust me," Lightning said, turning away from us.

It dawned on me how hard this must be for Lightning, having to deal with the loss of her sister, Snow's insensitive belief that she could be saved, and the unknown destiny that faced her – that faced _all_ of us... how does one cope?

We walked in silence for a while, Lightning leading, and Hope trailing behind. We finally emerged from a cavern to see the remains of the town, if you could call it that. All that was left was a gate, and some archways that were surrounded by ruins.

"Whoa," I said, peering around me at the crumbling pillars and walls. It reminded me of Paddra.

"This place must have looked real nice in it's hey-day," Sazh said.

"Let's go!" Lightning barked.

"I guess sightseeing isn't high on her list of priorities," I said to Sazh, who grinned, but moved on.

Just like I guessed, the ruins were filled with soldiers, and a few bioweapons. There was even a Behemoth that we managed to skirt around undetected.

"Even the flames turned to crystal," Sazh said, indicating a cluster of red crystals that clearly used to be fire. "This is ridiculous."

I tapped the crystal and chuckled, amused. We came across a large group of PSICOM soldiers, headed by one of the elites. The elite were much taller than the rest, largely thanks to the uniform, which was almost regal in design.

"Those'll be our cold-blooded beasts, I take it," Sazh muttered, looking at the soldiers. "They use some sort of devices for their magic. I don't think it's the same as the l'Cie stuff."

There was an old corridor that was barricaded by fallen debris, but there seemed to be enough space for us to get through, and we emerged on the other side dusting down our clothes and wiping grime from our faces. We approached a set of stairs and nearly groaned at how many there were, however my spirits lifted when a saw a white floating station at the bottom of the steps. "Yes!" I cheered running over to it ignoring the looks I was getting. I tapped the station and it opened up its wonders to me. Panels upon panels over lapped showing me all its gifts and features.

"Hey! Hey!" Sazh walked over to me. "What are you messing with?"

I ignored him and starting tapping and swiping my finger across the panels. I wasn't happy with this model's limited items but they would have to do. I purchased Iron Bangles, Power Wristbands, and a Magician's mark. Swiping the panel away I pulled up another and purchased as many potions and Phoenix downs as I could.

"Hey!" Sazh snapped slapping my hand away from the panel, "What do you think you're doing? You can't afford all that stuff!"

"Yes I can." I replied watching the panel total up my purchases. "Look, sooner or later we're going to run into some tough monsters and our current weapons might not cut it. Plus we're seriously lacking in supplies and we can't always rely on Vanille to cure us." When the balance appeared I reached down my thin strapped shirt and pulled out the several of cards I had stashed there.

The others gasped in shock.

"Those are soldier credits." Lightning whispered.

"Where did you-? When did you-?"

I began swiping all the cards through to pay off the balance, "I took them off the dead soldiers. It's not like they're going to use them any time soon." I tossed the empty cards on the ground and waited for the delivery.

"You can't just loot the dead!" Sazh shouted, "Didn't your parents teach you any better?"

I rolled my eyes, "Actually my parents taught me to loot the dead." Granted the dead were monsters but that's beside the point. The machine beeped and all my purchases fell out of the machine in tiny white boxes. Wow, how 'bout that technology. Opening up the boxes I passed the supply around. I even bought them new weapons.

Once that was done we began to climb the many stairs that led to a wide open plaza that gave off a chill in the air. It wasn't good that there was this much open space…

"Something's making the hairs on my neck stand up," Sazh said quietly.

"You've got to stop worrying, Sazh!" Vanille said exasperatedly.

"No, I'm getting that feeling too," I said, placing a hand on my weapon.

"We outran 'em," Vanille tried to console me. "We'll be okay now."

The stairs opened into a large square space with arches surrounding three sides, and the stairs behind us. Crystal fire decorated the entire area. Vanille was staring around the place in wonder, gasping audibly and running further away from us, examining everything she found and gasping louder still.

"Stay close," Lightning warned, but Vanille ran ahead.

"I want to look around," She shouted with a cheerful smile back to us swinging her arms about.

Lightning sighed, an annoyed look on her face. I was about to say something when Vanille's scream of terror made us all look in her direction. She was running towards us and behind her was a bioweapon. A bioweapon that was flying, swooping towards the ground in an attempt to get to Vanille, who dodged out of the way, causing the creature to crash into the wall of crystal fire. It shook off the pain and roared at us. Vanille ran behind Sazh, who stood in front of her, his pistols already drawn. Beside me, Lightning was in a half-crouch, ready to launch herself at the creature. I drew my own weapon.

"Still think coming here was a good idea?" I asked over the flapping of wings.

She responded by running swiftly towards it, sidestepping as the Interceptor lunged forward with its neck, snapping it jaws. Lightning dodged and swung, cutting open the Interceptor.

As I prepared for another blow, the Interceptor turned and flew back, crashing through fiery crystal and crumbling ruin alike into another area.

"It's charging up," Lightning said as the Interceptor spread its wings and began to glow.

"Charging? What are you talking about? Charging for what?" Sazh cried, suddenly uncertain as to his next move.

A white light began to surround the Interceptor, electricity crackling in the air around it.

"Its last moments," Lightning said determinedly, and she rushed forward.

I was right behind her. The Interceptor had a final attack to perform when it was reaching the end of its life, and the attack would probably kill us unless we finished it first.

Lightning ran, faster than I could ever have believed. She was the first to reach the Interceptor, and then she jumped, as high as she could, just as the light collected into the center of the bioweapon's mouth. It opened its jaws wide and flew higher. Lightning wasn't going to make it. I shouted to Vanille to use a wind spell to make Lightning faster and thankfully that trick worked. The mighty gust of wind that propelled Lightning towards the Interceptor, and she brought down her gunblade.

The light vanished, the wings drooped, and Lightning wrenched her blade from the Interceptor's mouth, dropping lightly on the ground as the Interceptor collapsed, shaking the ground when it hit it.

"That was too close," I said to Light.

She nodded.

"That was some quick thinking, kid," Sazh said, clapping me on the back.

Vanille giggled and pointed behind us. "Check it out!"

We turned. There, at the edge of the ruin, was a lone cruiser, still in good condition despite the battle that had occurred around it.

"Come on," Sazh commanded, approaching the cruiser. "Hop to it, let's go!"

"Can you fly it?" I asked, praying that he could.

"Yeah, I used to be an airship pilot, before this whole mess," He said.

"This'll make things easier!" Vanille said, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, knowing our luck, it's probably missing an engine."

Vanille pouted, "You shouldn't be so negative!" She scolded.

"And you shouldn't get your hopes up," Sazh said dismissively.

* * *

Taking an empty seat next to Hope I flopped into the cushioned chair with a relieved sigh. We're been walking non-stop since we regained consciousness and my feet were killing me. My sandals were made for walking on grass not hard crystal grounds.

I let out a yelp when I felt the ship jerk violently. I could hear my companions begin to yell as well.

The moment we took off out of the dark tunnel that lead upwards dozens of PSICOM warships began to tail us. How in the world could they tell that we weren't one of them?

Spotlights from above illuminated the tunnel and I could barely make out a squad of ships surrounding the outer edges of the tunnel's exit. They opened fire on us. Yellow beams flashed around us, and the ship rocked around the tunnel.

"Ooh, no!" Sazh yelled as he steered us left and right to avoid us getting blown to pieces.

"Give me that!" Lightning leant forward from her seat and grabbed the wheel that doubled up as a control for the gun torrent on the ship. The ship shook even more as the gun on its underside fired upwards. An explosion rent the air and we sped out of the tunnel.

"Did we get 'em?" Vanille asked hanging onto her seat for dear life. Lightning drives like a maniac!

More shots sounded around us, piercing the sky. "We got _one_ of them," Lightning growled.

"They're still behind us!" Hope screamed in the seat next to me.

Lightning was still competing with Sazh for the controls. "Stop that!" he shoved Lightning's hand away,

"You _want_ to die?" he shouted, pushing Lightning back into her seat.

We entered a trench with walls that grew narrower as we progressed and the warships still firing at us.

"How are you gonna lose 'em?!" Hope asked desperately gripping the chair in front of him.

"You got me, kid," Sazh grunted as the ship shook even more.

"Then let me," Lightning demanded from her seat in front of Hope, her arms crossed like a miffed toddler.

"No, thank you!" Sazh shouted back at her.

I could see light now; we burst from the trench and into the blinding light. Clouds were everywhere, and the sky was all we could see. It was hard to believe something so peaceful could still exist.

There was a giant white ship in the sky, but more shots echoing around us forced me to focus on more important things.

"They're still on us?" Sazh shouted, amazed.

The ship was suddenly rocked, hard, and I lurched sideways, my shoulder colliding painfully with the window.

"We're taking hits!" Sazh shouted.

"So lose them!" I yelled, rubbing my shoulder.

We flew into a long river surrounded by walls of rock, the ship going so close to the water that sprays of liquid hit the window. "Come on, give me a break!" Sazh yelled. The walls of rock narrowed, and as we passed under a layer of rock, Sazh shot at it, causing it to fall.

I held my breath as we passed, but the rock collapsed behind us, and I heard the distinct sound of a ship exploding. "Did we lose 'em?" I asked as we flew upwards into the air again.

"For now," Sazh sighed, then he banged his fist onto the control panel. "For the love that's all and good!"

I slumped back in my chair as a hologram appeared in front of me. It was a display of the news channel.

 **" _Next, an update on the status of the Purge. Just moments ago, the Sanctum announced the successful conclusion of the Purge, along with the safe arrival of the Cocoon migrants to their new homes on Pulse."_**

The display showed an attractive blonde newsreader and an image of the Pulse vestige in Bodhum.

The hologram switched to a shot of the Primarch, an elderly man dressed in white robes and a headdress speaking. " ** _Yes, that is correct. There's no denying the enormity of the strain the Purge placed on us all. But, given the tens of millions of lives at stake, there truly was no alternative."_**

The display flashed back to the news desk, where a different newsreader, a man, was pointing at the still image of the Primarch on the screen.

 **" _Primarch Dysley stood by the move, stressing the necessity of the relocation. When asked about the possibility of future Purges, the Primarch remained noncommittal, stating only that he'd seek counsel with the fal'Cie Eden and weigh all options before making a decision."_**

"Yeah, that's right," Sazh said. "If it makes the Sanctum look bad, it never even happened."

On the screen, Dysley was speaking again, " ** _In all the centuries since the War of Transgression, Cocoon has been spared Pulse aggression, and prospered for it. It is essential that we maintain this peace. That is the Sanctum's focus. We will continue employing every resource available to combat these threats to the harmony of our society."_**

"Meaning, we'll be running for the rest of our lives," Sazh said.

"Hey," Vanille spoke up hesitantly, "Umm, who is this guy?" She pointed at the screen.

Sazh sighed and hung his head, and I suppressed a smile, "I mean, what do they teach kids these days? He's Galenth Dysley. The Sanctum Primarch. Murderer-in-chief."

"Just another tool of the fal'Cie," Lightning muttered.

 **" _According to our insta-poll, nearly ninety percent of Cocoon citizens agree with the Sanctum's handling of the Purge. Seventy percent of respondents said they would also support additional Purges were the need to arise."_**

Sazh sighed in disgust. "Let's Purge everybody. That'll fix it!" Suddenly, red lights flashed around the interior of the ship and an alarm went off, beeping continuously. "Points for perseverance." Sazh said as more ships gained on us, appearing from nowhere. The Chocobo chick squeaked from its nest.

A bright light pierced the windshield. We hurtled through a cluster of clouds to see a bright orange light hanging in the sky.

"Wow!" Vanille gasps in utter awe.

A Sanctum fal'Cie up close and personal," Sazh explained. "Cocoon's own light in the sky."

The fal'Cie was all whirling machinery on top, and glowing light underneath, shining on the populace below. The ship lurched again as we took another hit.

"Here we go again."

"Fly in!" Lightning commanded, and Sazh steered the ship into the fal'Cie's light. "We'll lose them in there." The ship looped and circled, avoiding the particles of heat and light that flashed around us.

"They're still on us!" I cried, only to peer out the window and see one of the warships explode as it hit one of the beams of light emanating from the fal'Cie.

"I like this fal'Cie," Sazh yelled approvingly.

"There's more of 'em!" Vanille shouted. Suddenly, the ship was hit again and it veered sideways pressing me close to the window and Hope crashing into my side. I could see the ground rush up to meet us very fast. Fearing the absolute end we started screaming our heads off until we finally hit the ground.

* * *

 **And that's the end of chapter 2! Thanks for reading!**

 **(C) Square Enix**


	3. The Vile Peaks

All recognizable characters and main plot is owned by Square Enix! Thank you and good-bye!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Vile Peaks**

The sounds of battle assaulted my ears, softly at first, but growing louder by the second. I struggled to open my eyes and find the will to get up at the same time.

"Get up!" I heard Vanille cry out. "We need help!"

 _'I'm getting up, I'm getting up.'_ I dug up whatever strength I had and manage to sit up on my elbows. Looking down I realized why it was so hard to get up. Hope was lying on top of me with his head in my chest. With the utmost grace I shoved him off of me and he landed with a grunt. He would come around on his own time I had to get my own bearings. Night had fallen. We were surrounded by ruined machinery interspersed amongst the rocks. "What's going on?" I muttered, clutching the back of my head, which ached horribly. It finally dawned upon me that we were being attacked. Lightning and the others were fending off three Pantherons. With a final swing of her blade Lightning laid waste to them.

Vanille relaxed visibly. "Glad that's over!"

"What happened?" I asked as she and Sazh, who had stumbled to his feet to watch the end of the battle, lay down, clearly exhausted.

"We crashed," Lightning replied simply.

"Yeah, I gathered that," I said, indicating the flaming wreckage of our ship. "Is everyone okay?" I asked the group.

Hope was getting up, nursing a grazed elbow. Vanille and Sazh were both moaning and groaning loudly trying to catching their breath on a boulder, shaken but unhurt and Lightning was surveying the area, taking in our new environment.

"Man, I'm beat," Sazh sighed as Lightning started walking on. "What, no break?" he asked her incredulously.

"They're tracking us," Lightning stated pointedly.

"I know that. _I know that_ , but we aren't soldiers!" Sazh cried, holding out his hand. "We don't have your kind of stamina."

I looked from one to the other, prepared to keep moving, half-wishing I could just lie down like the rest of them, but I knew that if we stayed put for any length of time, PSICOM would catch up to us.

"You've got enough to complain," Lightning said coldly, and continued on, following a wide path through the rock.

"Oh, that's-! Forget it!" Sazh cried frustrated, sitting back down.

Well I'm surely not sitting here waiting to die. I nodded to the others once and made tracks in Lightning's direction. It's their decision if they want to follow or not.

"Wait up!" I turned around to see the weak link panting to catch up. Terrific. Looking in front of me I examine a large piece of machinery blocking our path. Finding a good grip I started climbing with Hope following close behind me. I balanced evenly on the wreckage and was nearly knocked over by Hope the moment he joined me at the top. I jumped down and landed in a gracefully on my feet whereas Hope nearly face planted when he jumped down.

"What's your story?" I asked, him waiting for him to recover from the tiny jump.

After a moment of silence, he muttered, "I need to be stronger."

 _'No kidding.'_ I wanted to say, but instead I played it nice, "Stronger how? Emotionally? Physically? Mentally?"

"I just…." Hope hung his head. "I need to be tough, like you... like Lightning."

"Lightning _is_ pretty tough," I agreed. She had what it took to be an excellent Hunter if she was from Gran Pulse. "You'll get strong on your own in your own way eventually. You're going to have to if you want to make it out of here."

Hope nodded and together we began to follow the path knowing that Lightning wasn't far ahead, "How did _you_ get here?" Hope suddenly asked. "How'd you get roped into all of this?"

I looked up at the starry sky, almost surprise I could see stars at all with all this debris around. "Well, I guess I can tell you since I don't care." The worst he could do is tell Lightning and the others and they turn against me. "I'm from Gran Pulse."

"Y-You're from-" He let out a startling gasp, his eyes wide with fear and he quickly backed away from me like I'm one of the many monsters we've been fighting lately. "You're from Pulse!" He backed up so quickly that he fell over and even then he still tried to scurry back.

"Oh grow up!" I snapped at him annoyed with his cowardice, "Geez, grow a spine will you?! I'm not going to hurt you." I held up my wrapped hand that covered my brand, "I'm a l'Cie, too you know. That means unfortunately we're all in this together and I have to put my differences with Cocoon aside for now." I put my hand down and started walking away slowly trying to give him time to get up and follow me so we don't lose Lightning's tracks, "I don't know how I ended up on Cocoon…I just woke up in a place called Bodhum and soldiers tried to put me on a train. I was going to resist until they told me the train was going to Gran Pulse. That was my ticket home so I took it." I finally heard his footsteps behind me. I crossed my arms as I walked, "I was vaguely aware that Lightning and Sazh was in the same train cart as me. Soon as we were in Hanging Edge she stopped the train by taking out all the guards on board. One thing led to another and we met up with the rest of you." I looked behind me to see him standing a few feet away, "Look, all I want is to get back to Gran Pulse – l'Cie or not- I don't want to take over Cocoon or destroy it." Not without an army at least.

He didn't say anything for a while. I didn't care one way or the other if he got anything out of my little story. Just cause we're all l'Cie doesn't mean we're all friends.

"There she is," I said, pointing as Lightning came into view. We jogged after her.

She turned when she heard our approach. "Just you two?"

"For now, I guess," Hope said. It looks like he wasn't going to rat me out. "Should we wait?"

"They said they'll catch up," She said turning around to continue onward, "Eventually."

We started moving, working our way through the debris.

"All the junk around here came from Pulse, didn't it?" Hope asked our silent leader. "How did it all end up here?"

"This is the Sanctum's dumping ground." She answered while keeping a brisk jog, "During the War of Transgression – you know about the War of Transgression, right?" He nodded. "During the war, Cocoon's outer shell was cracked, so the Sanctum fal'Cie brought up scrap from Pulse to repair the damage. This is the waste."

"I suppose the Vestige arrived in Cocoon with the rest of this, huh," He said.

"Probably," I replied.

On our right, a pile of scrap began to stir, and a humanoid robot burst from it. It was rusted, with a long right arm and the left was a stump, probably lost in the wreckage.

"I guess it wasn't just the scrap the fal'Cie brought up here," Lightning said, drawing her gunblade.

"That thing's from Pulse?" Hope asked backing up.

"That's a Pulsework Soldier." I told them drawing my arrow.

"A Pulsework Soldier?" Hope echoed, drawing his weapon as well. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Depends on how you look at it." I replied sarcastically, "It's an ancient machine from Pulse, one of the most resilient because of its armor – it's resistant to most attacks."

Lightning didn't question my knowledge but she gave me a look out of the corner of her eye, "Is there a way to defeat it?"

I nodded, "Ironically when it's staggered it loses resistance as well as its ability to attack. Hit it hard enough and its weakness is exposed."

"Right." She swung her blade around. "Can I count on you two?"

Hope and I nodded and launched fire and blizzard spells simultaneously while Lightning hacked away at the armor to keep the staggering gauge up. I was right in my speculation thinking that the machine has been rotting here long enough that it messed up its armor since it began to whir and shake. Its power core was exposed to us and with a dramatic swing of her gunblade Lightning killed it.

"Nice," I said as the robot collapsed, its circuits sizzling.

We continued on our way staying on the beaten path no doubt made by monsters. When we came to the end of the path there was a steep drop off that lead to two other paths. One path led to a wall of rock and debris and the other led to who knows. Jumping down from the steep drop we peered at the very high wall. It looked almost impossible, even dangerous to scale.

"Dead end. Guess we have to go back," Hope said, panting.

Lightning and I surveyed the rocky wall, while Hope sat down on a rock. Lightning was looking at it probably trying to find a way to scale it.

"Can we get through this way, you think?" Hope asked from his seat. "You... know where you're going, right?" He sounded like he hoped he didn't make a mistake following her when she didn't know where she was going.

"I've… been here on missions before," Lightning said.

"Missions? Nothing to do with the Purge, though?" Hope asked.

"The Purge is a PSICOM operation," She told him. "Not the Guardian Corps. Our military is split into two arms," She began climbing on one of the rocks near the wall. "The Public Security and Intelligence Command, known as PSICOM." She stood on the rock and placed a hand on her hip, "And the Guardian Corps. _I_ was Guardian Corps, Bodhum Security Regiment."

"Wait, but I don't get it," Hope sat up straighter. "If you're not PSICOM, then why did you board the train?"

"For Serah." She replied, "I had to rescue Serah before they transported the Vestige to Pulse and out of my reach," Lightning said. "My only chance to save her was to join the Purge."

"You're telling me you got on that train to save your sister?" Hope queried her. "That's crazy. I could never do something like that."

Lightning turned to him. "It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do."

"Easy for someone like you to say," Hope said despairingly, looking at his shoes.

I watched Lightning sigh and turn to the rock wall, leaping up to the top in a display of agility. She got up there quick.

"Lightning!"

She jumped the last few feet and was soon gone from our sight.

"She's good," I said simply.

Hope sighed heavily and slouched, "She left us."

I'd leave you too if you were dragging me down. I turned to him. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry?!" he said repeated with shock laced in his voice. "What now?! She left us!"

I turned to the wall. "We need to figure out a way up this thing." I didn't have a long piece of rope to tie at the end of one of my arrows to shoot over the wall and climb up.

"How? I can't do what she did."

"Are you always this negative? Neither can I," I told him while looking around for something to help us. So help me if she really left me here with this whiny boy. "And I don't know how that works, so I can't get it running." I waved my hand at the wrecked Pulsian machine that covered the rock wall. "Don't give up so quickly." I told him picking up a piece of scrap metal, "You'll never get strong if you avoid the problem. Lightning overcame her problem by literally climbing over it."

"Hey, guys!" I looked up to see Vanille hurrying towards us, Sazh following behind. "We made it!" The orange-haired girl said, coming to a stop in front of Hope.

"Where's grumpy?" Sazh asked noticing that she was gone. I pointed at the top of the rock wall behind us. "We'll find her," Sazh said, placing a hand on Hope's shoulder.

At the contact, Hope jumped away. "Leave me alone!" he cried. "This is pointless." He slumped away. "Can't keep up. Can't get home. It's over for me."

Vanille leant down in front of him. "It's _not_ over! We'll get you home!"

"I don't have one. Now that Mom is-" He stopped mid-sentence.

"What about your dad?" Vanille asked.

Hope paused, deep in thought. "I was with my mom in Bodhum, watching the fireworks display," he said. "That night, they found the fal'Cie in the Bodhum Vestige. The next day, soldiers sealed off the town and we couldn't get back to Palumpolum. They forced us onto the train with everyone else. My mum, she was frantic. She wanted to get us home, so she tried to fight." He turned to us. "She got tricked, by Snow. He used her!"

"Snow?" I asked, but Hope ignored me, consumed as he was by the memories of his mother.

"Let's get you home, okay?" Vanille said encouragingly. "Your dad's got to be worried!"

"Let him worry," Hope spat. "Why should I care? He doesn't."

"Any father cares." Sazh spoke from the corner. We turned to him.

"Sazh?"

He shook off our worry, "It's nothing, forget it," Sazh said, turning away from us. He walked towards the base of the wall, and I followed tossing the scrap metal I found.

"You know how to work this?" I asked.

He tinkered with it a bit. "This ought to do it," He said, pulling a lever on the machinery. The machine lit up, and a ramp leading to the top of the rock extended from the opposite side. "We've got time," he said, addressing Hope. "We'll get you home. Your dad will be happy to see you."

"Come on," I said, leading them up the ramp, and to the top of the cliff.

We followed the path onwards, talking very little, lost in our own thoughts. We came to a large, open space with a lake, and a wrecked ship rising from the water. The path skirted around the edge of the lake, rising gradually.

"Isn't that a-?" Vanille started to ask.

"A warship from Pulse," Sazh said.

"You mean, they made it this far?" she asked him shocked.

"Of course not," Sazh said quickly. "Not during the war, not since. They might have tried. But none of their forces made it into Cocoon." I nodded; vaguely remembering the War from Gran Pulse point of view. All I remember is fire and smoke and lots of screams. "They only damaged the outer rim," Sazh continued. "Then the Sanctum's fal'Cie pushed them back. What, did you sleep through history?" he asked the young girl.

She laughed. "More or less. So, what's a ship from Pulse doing here?"

It was Hope who answered this time. "Once the war was over, people couldn't live near the rim anymore. In places like the Hanging Edge. So the fal'Cie, they gathered up the scrap from Pulse and used it for rebuilding here. This is what was left; a bunch of garbage."

"Who'da thunk?" Sazh mused. "A Pulse fal'Cie and who-knows-what mixed in with all the trash?" Vanille skipped ahead, much to Sazh's annoyance. "Hey, stay where I can keep an eye on you!"

* * *

As we came onto a platform, Lightning dropped down in front of us.

"Hey, welcome to the party!" Sazh greeted her.

"Did you miss us?" Vanille smiled at the cold woman.

She just snorted and walked on.

"Would it kill her to smile?" Sazh wondered out loud.

After a half-hour of walking, we came to a clearing, and in the center was a giant battle machine, a Dreadnought. This was going to be a doozy.

"What is that?" Sazh asked as the machine began to move toward us.

"Pulse armament," Lightning replied pulling out her weapon.

"And that's bad for us, isn't it?" he asked doing the same.

I nodded. "Very."

The five of us leaped out of the way as one of its arms came crashing down.

I kept back with Hope and Vanille firing off magic arrows that ricocheted off the Dreadnought's armour but the magic still stuck to it. Hope and Vanille tried to follow my lead by casting magic as well but I noticed that Sazh and Lightning were taking hits for fighting at a closer range than we were.

"This isn't going to work." I hissed. "It's armor is too thick." We jumped back when its wrecking ball came swinging about. We have to take it down another way. "Vanille! Heal them!" I barked at her when I saw Sazh slouched over. She nodded and changed her role to a medic and casted a few cure spells on him and Lightning as well. Sazh shouted a thanks over the fire attacks the Dreadnought let out. I turned to them again. "Vanille did you learn any debuffs?" She nodded slowly and that was good enough for me. "Hope cast some protective spells on them!" He nodded sharply and together they waved their arms about.

"We gotta get its stagger up!" I shouted shooting arrows coated with fire and blizzard like no tomorrow.

"Why don't you try its legs, kid?" Sazh yelled shooting fire coated bullets at its legs. He pointed his palm at the Dreadnought's feet, and the wave of ice surrounded the metal, freezing it to the ground. I grinned and repeated the motion on its other leg, effectively stopping it in its tracks – for about a second.

The Dreadnought wrenched its trapped feet from their icy prison, and started towards us again, a sliding mechanism moved on its bulky front, revealing a large cannon that sparked and whirred.

"Move!" I shouted, diving out of the way. My companions hit the deck as an explosion rocked the ground. The ground beneath us began to crack, and before any of us could move, it gave way and we fell. I hit the ground hard but I was alive.

"I thought we were goners," Sazh said, standing up and dusting himself off. The others all stood.

"Everyone all right?" I asked.

Four heads nodded in response.

"Incoming," Lightning said, her gunblade already in her hand. The Dreadnought landed in front of us, shaking the ground. Second verse same as the first. We launched a relentless assault combined with a tri-disaster on the Dreadnought. Within a few moments the Dreadnought keeled over backwards and that was the end of that.

"Pulse is crawling with things like that, isn't it?" Sazh asked no one in particular.

"Got me," Lightning answered. "Not even the Corps has access to intel on Pulse."

 _'Technically they're not all over Pulse. Like here, they reside where there are machines and electricity. People on Pulse originally use those kinds of machines for mining…when the war rolled around they were reprogramed as weapons.'_ I shifted my weight side to side every now and again.

"Well don't you need to know what you're up against?" Sazh asked Lightning.

"A target's a target," Lightning replied with a hand on her hip.

"You like to keep it simple, don't you?" Sazh asked her.

She crossed her arms, "I stick to my goal."

Hope blinked at her statement. "As long as you have a goal, you can fight?"

Lightning unfolded her arms. "You can stay alive."

I looked at her, silently agreeing with her words. Before we decided to continue on I stopped the group when I saw another white floating station. I made my way over to it before Sazh could stop me. I tapped it opened and looked at all it had to offer. Surprisingly this one is more updated than the last one.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Check this out." I waved them over for them to see. When they were all behind me I pointed to the new feature.

"Omni-kit." Hope read, "What's it do?"

"It upgrades our weapons." I replied shifting through the panels, "It takes our weapons and combines them with components and materials to make something stronger."

"Materials?" Vanille repeated putting a finger to her lip, "You mean stuff from monsters and things lying around."

I nodded, "Stuff lying around has to have value but basically, yeah." I tapped the panel again, "Does anyone have anything?" They patted themselves down only to find nothing. Oh well at least we learned that we can now make stronger weapons so we made it a second priority that the next time we encounter monsters we'll take some materials from them.

We continued onwards, coming to more wreckage, but thankfully the pile of junk here had a water source. We didn't dare drink from it but it provided a good resting spot.

"Not much of a future for us, huh?" he said walking along the side of a crashed warship to sit next to Lightning.

I stared up at the sky noting that morning was soon to come because the stars were staring to fade.

"Hard to picture a happy ending," Lightning said resignedly.

"We don't even know where to go," Sazh said, peering down at us from above.

Lightning stood "I do," she turned around to look up at the only light source in the sky. We followed her gaze to see Eden.

"Eden?" Sazh asked incredulously. "The Sanctum's seat of power." He chuckled. "Oh, that's a great idea. Just charge right in there. Give 'em a taste of l'Cie terror!" He was sarcastic, joking, but I could see even from down here, the gears of thoughts turning in Lightning's head. When he didn't hear her reply he looked at her to see her face, "You're serious."

Lightning turned to him. "Keep running – it's die or turn Cie'th. There's no place for l'Cie to hide," Lightning lightly paced back and forth, "No... They want a fight? Let's take it to the Sanctum's door!"

"This isn't a game!" Sazh shouted, waving his arms about.

"No. That's for damn sure," Lightning said to him. "It started with Serah. The fal'Cie took her. Now I'm a l'Cie too. And the Sanctum's hunting me, an enemy of the state," Lightning looked up at Eden again. "But who's pulling their strings? A fal'Cie, Eden. Cocoon's Sustainer and Guiding Light. It probably ordered the Purge, too."

"It didn't stop it," I added walking on the ramp to join the conversation.

"Pulse and Sanctum fal'Cie? They're all the same," Lightning said quietly looking at Hope and Vanille who joined me on the ramp. "And we're all the same to them; expendable." Her face tightens with determination, "I'm not dying a fal'Cie slave."

"So? What are you gonna do?" Sazh asked her.

"Destroy it," She replied as if she were going to kill a simple Pantheron, but if you listen closely to her voice you can tell that she knew she would die trying.

"By yourself?! What, are you crazy?!" Sazh said loudly. "Say you pull it off... What's that get you? Satisfaction? Something happens to Eden, it's lights out Cocoon!" His eyes grew wide when he realized what he just said. "You _want_ that. You're a Pulse l'Cie now, so you just want to snuff out Cocoon!"

"No!" Vanille denied, "What about Serah? She said to save Cocoon! It might even be our Focus to make sure Cocoon stays-"

"Our Focus doesn't matter," Lightning snapped, taking a step towards her. "I don't take orders from fal'Cie. How I live is up to me."

"Don't you mean," Sazh said slowly, "How you die?"

"…Think like that, and it's already over. Better to pick your path and keep moving." Lightning turned to face Sazh. "Don't worry. I'm after the Sanctum. I'm not out to destroy the world." She paused. "If it did come to that, wonder if our 'hero' would try to stop me?"

"You want to fight Snow now?" Sazh asked her. "Just like that and you're enemies?"

Lightning looked at each of us in turn. "Next time we meet, we might be too."

I watched her leave. I thought about everything up to this point and decided, "She's right."

"Not you too," Sazh sighed, looking at me forlornly.

"The Sanctum and the fal'Cie need to pay."

"Listen to me kid, you take out the Sanctum, Cocoon comes down with it."

I shrugged my shoulder. "Since I'm originally from Pulse I see no problem with that." That shut him up real quick, "I have no idea how I ended up on Cocoon- The Sanctum fal'Cie probably did it. When it comes to them, who needs a reason to do anything? They made my life hell, why not return the favor?"

"You're out of your mind…"

"Lightning's right. Set yourself an objective and see it through," I said through clenched teeth, "So run, if you think that's best, but I won't run with you." I turned on my heel and took off after Lightning.

It wasn't all that long until I heard foot steps behind me.

It was Hope.

"Sorry," He said, eyeing me warily, "I just…I need to get stronger…and you and Lightning can help me."

"It's not completely up to me." I said, letting him catch up beside me. "Come on."

Hope's appearance didn't really surprise me. He had told me earlier that he needed to be stronger, and he seemed to regard Lightning and I as the best way to achieve that goal. I let him fall in line behind me and we set up the path after Lightning.

"Lightning!"

"Wait for us!"

Surprisingly she stopped and turned to face us probably to flat out tell us that we can't go with her.

"We're going with you, Lightning." Hope told her bravely.

"Both of you?" She asked us before quickly shaking her head, "I can't babysit you anymore."

"I can fight." Hope said fiercely. "I'm not afraid!"

"He can help," I defended him, "Get him in the field some more, toughen him up... he'll do okay."

I knew it would take more than my word to convince her otherwise but before either one of us could try to convince her further a group of PSICOM soldiers converged on us.

* * *

"Nice work, Hope," I complemented. He was more involved in the battle than ever before.

"Not bad." Lightning praised him.

"Really?" Hope looked up at me, a glint in his eyes. "Thanks. Come on," Hope panted walking ahead of me and her, trying to prove how tough he is, "There will be more soldiers. We should keep moving." She didn't move from her spot. "Are you worried about the others? I'm sure they got away okay."

She turned to him, "So can you, if you leave now…With me, it'll be fight after fight. I don't know how it'll end. It's anybody's guess."

Hope hung his head, "I know that. But – I need to be stronger."

"Lightning, let him stay," I requested, "I don't want him dragging us down either…" I ignored the hurt look he casted me, "But if we send him back now on his own he won't stand a chance."

"…"

"Lightning?" Hope called her again.

She kept her back to us but she looked over her shoulder, "Call me Light."

He smiled for the first time since we've known him. "What's the plan from here?"

"Through the Gapra Whitewood to Palumpolum. We'll find transport to Eden."

"You know PSICOM will have put the word out on us by now," I said. "Soldiers will be everywhere."

"I live in Palumpolum," Hope tells us. "I can show you all the shortcuts."

"No side trips," She told him. "We can't afford any stops."

Hope chuckled. "No need. I don't think l'Cie are welcome at home."

* * *

"That could be a problem." I told the others spying a pair of PSICOM soldiers huddled around a large Pulse Dreadnought. It took all of us to take a Dreadnought down last time; it'll be a miracle with only three of us.

"Maybe not." Lightning whispered before she charged in with her gunblade blazing. Hope followed shortly after her wanting to prove that he can keep up. Sighing I joined the fray because I was worried about the stasis Dreadnought. It didn't wake during the short battle surprisingly.

Hope approached the Dreadnought. "What was PSICOM doing here?"

"Probably thought we'd try and use a Pulse machine to escape," I guessed.

"Maybe we should try it," Hope said, clambering onto the Dreadnought.

"Hope!" Light warned, taking a few steps forward. "Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself! Don't touch that!" She scolded him.

"What if it works?" He started messing with the controls.

"Leave it!" I said loudly, but Hope had already activated it. The Dreadnought began to emit a loud electronic whir and it took a few steps forward, with Hope clinging to its back.

"Hope!"

Light let out a bothered sigh as she reached for her weapon, prepared to shut it down the old fashion way, "I told you to leave it."

"Wait!" Hope appeared on top of it, nestled in what appeared to be a small cockpit. "I think I got it!".

Hope piloted the Dreadnought towards a large vertical bridge that was blocking our path. With a massive strike, the Dreadnought brought its metal arm forward against the bridge, causing it to fall.

"At least it's good for something," I muttered running after Hope and the Dreadnought.

The Dreadnought did prove useful, mowing down several Pulse automata that populated the way forward, but when we came to a steep set of ledges descending several meters, Hope tried to maneuver the Dreadnought down, but the boy overreached his step and the Dreadnought came crashing down.

"Nice landing," I said to Hope as he sat up.

He sat up with an exhausted sigh. We looked at the broken machine," I think that thing's out of commission, now."

"Let's keep moving," Lightning ordered impatiently already walking ahead.

"I hope we find another one of those things," The boy said, jogging slightly to keep up.

"I wouldn't count on it," I snorted, knowing our luck.

"Yeah well-" Hope began, but he tripped, and fell sprawling onto the ground.

I stopped. We had come to a bridge spanning a large, flowing waterfall.

"This isn't working," Light said with irritation turning around to face us.

"Huh?" Hope said, looking up at her.

"I mean, you're a liability," She said, unable to hold back my frustration. "You'll just slow me down."

"Light..."

"No! This was supposed to be my mission. I can't do this my way if you two are with me." She turned away from us anger rolling off of her, "I'm sorry, but I can't protect you when-"

Suddenly she doubled over, her shirt glowing pink.

"You can't leave us here! You've got to take me with you!" Hope shouted desperately.

"Enough!" She grunted, trying to suppress the building pain. "The whole world is against us! I can barely keep myself alive! Let alone some helpless kids!" The light on her chest was getting brighter "I don't have time to baby you! You want to get tough? Do it on your own!"

A blast of intricate pink lights and patterns burst out from underneath her. "What's happening?" We yelled. Lightning was kneeling in the middle of an open flower shaped seal. We ran forward to help her but a large humanoid machine stood in our way.

"This cannot be happening," Lightning said in disbelief, staring up at the figure. It looked like a machine, but humanoid, and strangely majestic. The figure drew a long, curved sword and advanced on Hope.

"Hope...Look out!" I screamed, running forward as the figure slammed down with its blade.

I pushed him away just in time.

"What _is_ that?" Hope grabs my arm in freight watching Lightning try to fight off the monster singlehandedly.

"Eidolon." I replied trying to keep him back and out of the way from its Thundara attacks. "And a powerful one at that." It's attacks shook the very earth we stood on. Grabbing his arm I pulled him towards Lightning, "We've got to help her!"

* * *

It was strange that seeing the two fight viciously at each other, even stranger that rose petals tend to explode from them.

"Odin!"

The figure stopped its assault immediately and it turned to her. Stabbing its large sword in the ground it jumped in the air surrounded by a green light and rose petals. Then it changed, its body moving and transforming into a white horse. Lightning puts her gunblade away and grabs the one Odin had and jumped on its back. As it reared back she pulled the large sword apart turning it into two swords.

"Wow…" Was all Hope and I could say when the Odin disappeared and Lightning sank to her knees exhausted.

"Lightning!" We rushed over to her

"Was that really an Eidolon?" Hope asked. "Like a summon?"

"Magic and mumbo-jumbo." She mutters, holding a hand over her glowing brand, "I must've hit my head on that Purge train."

"Are you all right?" I asked when her brand finally stopped glowing.

She nodded and stood up.

"Am I really in the way?" Hope asked quietly, hanging his head. I thought back to the battle. He has proven himself these last few battles. I think with a few more he can really hold his own. "I'll do better! I'll try harder, I'll-"

"Hope," Light interrupted. She walked a few paces ahead before she turned her head to look over her shoulder, "We'll toughen you up." She walked a few more paces before she stopped again, "I'm sorry, about before." Was all she had left to say before she continued on walking.

He let out a startled gasps of shock before picking up his pace to follow after her. Shaking my head I followed behind them. Beyond the bridge was a small clearing with little outcroppings of rock.

"We should stop here," I said, noticing Hope's sagging posture.

Hope nodded gratefully and leant against the rock, breathing heavily. "Sorry," He panted before sitting down, his back resting against the rock.

"Don't sweat it," She told him. "I'll look around. You two rest up."

I nodded and took a seat near Hope. If we were to be attack while she's gone we wouldn't be caught off guard if we're close together. I looked at the boy. He was asleep, his head lolling to the side.

I'm a little amazed how he fell asleep so fast but then again I shouldn't be surprised. He's never been through something like this before. He's not a Hunter like me or a Soldier like Lightning…just a boy who never had to fight and kill.

Slowly his head lulled until it landed on my shoulder and given that we're almost the same height he wouldn't get a pain in his neck. "Just because you're the same age as me doesn't mean you can sleep on me." I pushed his head upright and off my shoulder with my finger.

Lightning came back a few moments later and perked an eyebrow at me, probably wondering why I wasn't knocked out like Hope was.

"Relax. I'll take the first watch." She told me softly settling down across from us.

I nodded and allowing my limbs to relax. I was suddenly aware of how exhausted I was. My eyes drooped a bit and before I could close them completely I felt a weight on my shoulder again and wisps of silver hair entered my vision.

"Mom?" The boy asked in his sleep.

Lightning 'tsks' softly with amusement, "Not by a long shot."

* * *

 **Oh Odin...how you kicked my ass...in this game and the next one. Would you believe that in FF 13-2 I accidentally fused him with a chocobo and accidentally deleted him on another save? I made myself feel better by buying the Lightning DLC so she could fight in my party but the void was still there.**


	4. Gapra Whitewood

All recognizable characters and main plot is owned by Square Enix! Thank you all for taking a few seconds to read and good-bye!

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 **Chapter 4: Gapra Whitewood**

The path to the Gapra Whitewood from the Vile Peaks was disguised by a long, dark tunnel set into the mountain on the farthest edge of the Peaks. It had taken us a long while to reach it. Lightning lead the way through the triangular door, which slid open at our approach. Hope and I swiftly followed. The first things I see when we arrive in the Gapra Whitewood are the trees. Huge, bright trees with white leaves that hung over, towering over us, blocking the sky- allowing no sunlight to penetrate the vegetation. The forest floor was a dangerous wilderness inhabited by wildlife, so the Sanctum had built a long, winding pathway above called the Proto-ecology Belt.

Lightning went first with her gun in hand. She crouched behind a drooping leaf that was two times her size. She quickly motioned for us to join her when the coast was clear. A rumbling, grating sound echoed in the air, and we turned to see the giant door sliding closed. "That'll slow down pursuit," Lightning commented.

"But a-aren't there troops on this side?" Hope asked.

"Probably."

"Then we can't relax just yet," The boy said determinedly.

"Right," Lightning said checking her gunblade. "We press on. I'll take point. You watch our backs."

I nodded, falling into position between them with my bow and arrow ready.

"Actually," Hope said softly. "Why don't you let me take point?" He asked, sounding nervous that she would deny his request.

Lightning turned and looked at him cautiously, "Can you handle it?"

He answered by running forward, taking the lead. "It's not a question of can or can't," Hope said, repeating Lightning's words.

"Now you're learning," Lightning said with a smile.

I couldn't help noticing the difference that small expression made. She suddenly looked... friendly.

"All right, Hope, we're trusting you." I stood behind him. "Keep your eyes front, Lightning will watch our backs, and I'll cover our sides. Trust us to watch your back, and we'll trust you to watch the front."

Hope nodded, taking it in. "Got it." He started walking forward warily.

"We've got your back, Hope. You call the shots now," I said to him confidently. He nods again and started walking with more certainty.

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"Have you ever been here before?" I asked Lightning.

She shook her head, still turning every now and then to check behind us. Hope followed the beams of lights that rose from the platform we're walking on. We faced a few slug looking monsters but they were hardly worth any effort. If anything it was tedious to fight them.

"Hey, guys?" Hope's voice floated back to us. "We've got a small problem."

Occupying the platform was a Behemoth. A sleeping Behemoth. I held up my finger to my lips, indicating to Hope that he should be silent, and then repeating the gesture at Lightning. She raised her eyebrows at me and I pointed at the slumbering monster.

Lightning's eyes narrowed, and she whispered, "Sneak past it."

I nodded, and passed the message onto Hope, who began to slowly edge his way around the massive creature. Once Hope had safely reached the other side of the platform, I followed after him.

The Behemoth's slow breathing was like a roar, and each rise and fall of its chest convinced me that it was going to wake. I skirted around the Behemoth, joining Hope on the other side, but not daring to make a sound. I watched as Lightning repeated the process, following the same path that Hope and I had. It didn't take her as long as me to reach the next platform.

"Shall we, then?" I whispered, motioning for Hope to lead on.

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It was yet another hour before we reached an elevator. It was a large, square platform with a sliding mechanism on one side and a thick handrail surrounding three sides.

"Lightning?" Hope asked suddenly. "Have you ever been here before? On duty, I mean."

"No, I haven't. This area's covered by the Woodlands Observation Battalion," She replied. "You scared?"

"Not really. I'm ready to fight if I have to," Hope replied. In other words he was scared.

Lightning reached into her back pocket and withdrew a large folding knife. She held it out to Hope. "To keep you safe."

Hope hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and took it from her.

"I'll want it back," She stated.

He stood there, examining the knife. "I'm glad I followed you," He said, looking at us gratefully. "By myself, I would've had no chance."

"True." I told him, waving him to come onto the elevator. When he stepped on I placed a hand on his shoulder, "But you're becoming stronger."

He looked at me, surprised. Then he looked down at the knife and nodded once.

Lightning was last to get on the elevator. She walked over to the control panel and pressed the button. We weren't sure if it would go up or down but wherever it takes us we'll have to make the most of it.

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We encountered more bioweapons, but after our battle with the giant Pantheron, the smaller creatures were tame compared to that.

Hope suddenly looked up.

"What is it?" Lightning asked.

"We need to hide!" he said, hurrying into the shadow of the trees pulling us along by the wrists.

I could hear it now, the faint hum of hovercycles. I looked at the three hovercycles as they flew above us, and held my breath until they passed us. I'm impressed he heard them before we did.

"They don't seem like they're even looking for us," Hope stated confused as we slowly came out of hiding, "I mean, we're l'Cie and we're on the loose."

I nodded. It was odd. This place should be crawling with soldiers, all hunting for us. Lake Bresha had more security than this place.

"PSICOM's keeping it all under wraps," Lightning responded. "They don't want their failure publicized. Better to lose us than lose their pride."

"So the other soldiers don't know about us. Right?" Hope asked me, folding his arms.

Lightning nodded thoughtfully. "Right. They don't know anything about any fugitives."

"That's good, then," I told them as we stepped onto another elevator and descended to another platform. "Means they won't know we're heading to Palumpolum."

We came across another group of bioweapons.

"Never panic," Lightning said. "Calm heads make good decision."

A little ways ahead, at the end of the path, we came to a glowing structure.

"That's one of the bulkhead fal'Cie. Stay on guard," Lightning said.

We stopped in front of it, and Hope sat down, breathing heavily.

"I wonder how the others are doing," He panted.

"Sazh and Vanille?" Lightning asked, pacing in front of the door, "Who knows? Even if they got away, they'll get caught eventually. Then they'll have to choose: resist or surrender." She placed her hands on her hips.

"Surrender..." Hope repeated. "Do you think he's still alive?" he asked, his eyes narrow.

"You mean Snow?" I asked, noticing his change in attitude when the burly blonde is mentioned.

"He's too stubborn to die," Lightning crossed her arms. "And that's his best quality. He's arrogant and chummy from the get-go. He thinks he's everybody's pal. Never liked him much." She said scornfully. "He leads around a bunch of kids – gang called 'NORA'."

"Where'd they get the name 'Nora?'" Hopes asked.

"It's a stupid acronym," Lightning replied. "Their little code. It stands for 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority.' Must be nice." Just after that comment the door hummed a lighter shade a blue before opening up to us.

"It's irresponsible," Hope said his eyes glued to his shoes as he strode forward through the door. We continued on the narrow walk way until we found another elevator and went straight down.

The elevator descended to the forest floor, where we entered one of the wildlife pens.

"These aren't like the bioweapons," I said. "They're much more dangerous."

"This is an army facility for turning wildlife into weapons," Lightning explained.

"Civilians aren't allowed in here, are they?" Hope asked.

"We'll have to be sure to tell them if we see any," Lightning said sarcastically. "See that gate?" She points at a fence of yellow beams separating each enclosure. "They're equipped with a biorhythmic monitoring system. They can detect any wildlife within the enclosure. When there are no animals, the gates deactivate."

"So we have to get rid of them all to keep going?" Hope asked.

I nodded. We progressed through each enclosure, eliminating any feral creatures that barred our way so the fences would power down. It wasn't a difficult process, only time-consuming. An alarm sounded throughout the enclosures.

"We've tripped the security alarm," Lightning stated. "The Observation Battalion will be coming."

"Great," I said sarcastically. "It'll be a party."

We continued on, taking out all the monsters that got in our way. We had to be extra careful because now the monsters were capable of poisoning us.

"Hope, on your left," I hissed at the boy. He immediately whirled around and sent a fire spell at the Behemoth.

The beast shook off the fire spell and charged at me, heaving me into the air.

"Eria!" I heard Lightning yell when I slammed back into the ground on my back. I heard gunfire, and assumed Lightning was firing at the monster. I struggled to get the air back into my lungs after that double whammy; it heaved me in the stomach and I landed on my back.

"Eria!" Lightning shouted again. I opened my eye enough to see the large beast charging at me again.

I had dropped my weapon when the creature had hit me so I had to use my arms in defense.

I felt white-hot pain grip my side as the Behemoth landed a swipe, leaving deep gashes. My companions' attacks seemed to have no effect on it, obsessed as it was with its target: me. Stupidly I tried to fend off it off with my hands.

Miraculously a yellow/orange boomerang smacked it in the face. When it bounced off the Behemoth turned away from me and found a new target.

I coughed, taking huge gulps of air when a hand gripped mine. It was smooth and leathery. I blinked, my vision disoriented from the impact. Hope pulled me upright, and I stood, swaying slightly.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, concerned.

I smiled weakly, "Yeah, just got the air knocked out of me," I replied hoarsely.

He handed me my bow, "Are you sure?" Noticing when I tried to take a step I just about doubled over.

I hunched over, my hand clutching the wound in my arm where the beast clawed at me. It was bleeding rather badly, little drops of crimson falling to the ground.

"Move your hand," Hope commanded.

I was taken aback since he never gave orders before. He usually just shies away in the background. Wordlessly I moved my bloodied hand away, and he placed his own hand over the wound, a look of concentration on his face. He casted cure on my arm and when he removed his hand, the wound was gone, replaced by smooth skin.

"Thanks," I flexed and moved my arm to test for any pain. Thankfully there was none. He's a pretty good healer.

"It's staggered!" Lightning shouted drawing our attention back to the fight. Hope and I rejoined the battle. With Lightning launching the beast in the air Hope and I backed her up with magic spells.

"I didn't know they made 'em that big here," I said, once the battle was over.

"Me neither," She said, looking at the beast for a moment before turning around to continue on, "Doesn't matter, though. We need to keep going before more show up."

We nodded and followed her up the path.

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Hope led the way to a large platform, where he stopped, his hands on his knees. Night had fallen, though the trees were grouped so close together that it hardly made a difference, but all three of us were exhausted.

"We'll rest here for the night," Lightning said.

Hope sat down and pulled out Lightning's knife, opening it repeatedly.

"What's eating you?" Lightning asked, noticing the resigned look on Hope's face. The boy didn't answer.

"Okay, I can tell you're hung up on something," Lightning pressed him. "Is it the l'Cie thing?" Lightning guessed. He shook his head. "It's Snow, isn't it?" Lightning said, turning to him.

Hope looked up, but didn't say anything.

"What happened with him?" I asked the boy, remembering his strange behavior back in Lake Bresha.

"You wouldn't understand," Hope said.

"Try me." I retorted. He wasn't the only one struggling. I don't like how he's trying to make like his problems were bigger than everyone else's.

Lightning crouched down in front of him. "We're a team, Hope," She reminded him.

He looked up at her, then at me. Hope sighed. "My mother was killed," He began. "Because of him." He started gently hitting the ground with the hilt of Lightning's knife. "It's his fault…and he needs to pay for it." He held the knife up in front of him. "I'm not ready yet, but I will be. Soon." He flicked the knife closed. Hope stood up. "That's why I followed you;" he took a few steps forward where Lightning stood, "Snow dragged us all into this. Eria and me, you and your sister Serah... he's gotta pay."

He walked on ahead, forgetting that we're supposed to be resting now.

"Do you think he could..."

Lightning didn't answer immediately. She just stared at Hope. "I don't know. He has reason enough for revenge."

"Should we do something?" Hope was out for blood. Snow's blood. He blamed him for the death of his mother, for letting her fall.

"We'll have to keep an eye on him." I could tell by her tone she was concern too.

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"I think I'm getting the hang of fighting, thanks to you," Hope said, looking up at us after another battle.

"You're doing great, Hope," I told him, trying to keep his spirits up. He glowed at the compliment.

We left the enclosure and ascended to the pathway again, coming to another elevator which took us up.

"Wait," Lightning called from ahead. We had come to a platform, and strewn about the platform were corpses.

"What happened here?" Hope asked as I bent to examine one of the bodies. They were soldiers, probably Observation Battalion.

"Bad luck," Lightning said. "They came looking for us and found something worse."

I looked around. Whatever attacked the soldiers could still be here.

"We can't just leave them like this!" Hope cried, hurrying over to one of the bodies but Lightning threw out her arm and stopped him. "Don't touch anything!" she scolded, "Control your emotions. If you want to survive, you forget about sympathy." Hope looked put out. "How can I explain?" Lightning wondered for the first time looking confused, turning away from us. She thought for a moment before turning back and crouching in front of Hope. "Think of it like a strategy," She told him a little enthusiastic, "Focus on your ultimate goal and shut out everything else." Hope nodded. "Still your mind. Move on instinct," Lightning continued, standing up. "Let doubt take over and despair will cripple you."

Hope stood, "Strategy. Good. I'll take anything that can help me get through this," He said calmly, walking forward. "I'll call it 'Operation Nora'."

"NORA?" Lightning asked.

"My mother's name," The boy stated.

"Your revenge?"

"Yes," He replied. "Don't tell me. I know getting revenge on him won't... bring her back." Hope spun around. "I know that! But 'sorry' won't cut it."

"Hope," I started, "Snow didn't kill your mother. The Sanctum did."

"Whose side are you on?!" he shouted, turning to me.

I blinked, "My side."

He paused before pulling out Lightning's knife, "Fine," He said. "I'll fight the Sanctum with you. I'll learn to survive." He flipped the knife open, then closed it and walked on. I followed, and Lightning led us onto a large, oval-shaped elevator.

We ascended several floors, until we reached a short pathway that lead to a door. It was clearly the exit to the Gapra Whitewood. We stepped forward, only to be greeted by a huge rumbling as an enormous creature landed in front of us, blocking our path.

The bioweapon looked like a giant turtle, with a plant for a shell.

The three of us settled into a combat stance. "This is it," Hope shouted with his weapon raised. "Operation Nora!" He charged forward. Lightning followed after him as back up, knowing full well that he'll get himself killed.

'Brainless idiot!' I parted my sarong, exposing my left thigh where my leg pouch rested. Opening it, I pulled out my Libra Scope.

It was an Aster Protoflorian. A bioweapon that dealt punishing physical attacks and elemental attacks. It was also able to shift its elemental properties, so any magic that we dealt had to be exact, otherwise it would just absorb the magic to heal itself.

Putting my Libra Scope away I loaded up my bow with three arrows coated with different magic types.

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"Well…" I panted lightly putting my unused arrow back into the caddy, "…that was a thing."

The others nodded in agreement. Now that the way was cleared we could keep going. However before I let Hope take another step forward I slapped him in the back of the head. "Don't you ever do something stupid like that again." I scolded him.

Grumbling he rubbed his sore head and we continued on.

We approached the doorway, which slid open, revealing the edge of the Gapra Whitewood. The trees were thinner here, and the sky was clearly visible. There were mountains bordering the Gapra Whitewood, and beyond that I could hear the crashing of the ocean. The pathway ended ahead of us, and a gap in the mountains led to a cliff. The three of us approached the edge. Water was lapping at the rock below us. In the distance, Palumpolum lay opposite us, on the other side of the channel.

"That's it. Palumpolum."

"That's where you live, right?" Lightning asked.

Hope looked longingly at the city.

"We'll stop in when we get there," Lightning assured him.

"We'll drop you off and continue on without you." I looked at him out of my peripheral, "That's what you wanted right?"

"No," Hope shook his head, "We're l'Cie now and no one's there but my dad."

"Hope... You need to let him know what happened," Lightning pressed.

Hope sighed. His father does deserve to know what happened to his wife. If his father knows what's going on already he must be frantic to know what has happened to his wife and son.

* * *

When I first got the game, I had such a hard time with that boss for some reason. I even went back to spawn enemies to max level, had medium difficulty beating it. Went downstairs to make something to eat, came back, and beat it no problem. I just need to eat before fighting bosses from now on. To whom it may concern...this will be finished...to whom it may concern more...the sequel is still in process...to whom who could care less...it may branch to Lightning Returns!


	5. PalumPolum

All recognizable characters and main plot is owned by Square Enix! Thank you all for taking a few seconds to read and good-bye!

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 **Chapter 5: PalumPolum**

I ducked around the corner and spotted Lightning and Hope crouching behind a crate. I ran over to them. "So much for blending in." I stated sarcastically as I surveyed the dock. There were small groups of soldier's patrolling the dock; obviously the turmoil in the street hadn't caught their attention just yet, or it had, and they were searching for us. The latter seemed more likely. "Which way, Hope?"

He thought for a moment. "We need to get to the station, right? We can't go back to the streets so our best bet is through the dock." Hope's face contorted in concentration, trying to find a way to sneak passed the soldiers. "There's a series of tunnels that leads underground. I used to play in them when I was a kid."

Lightning had her weapon ready, "Okay, how far is the entrance?"

"It's close." He assured.

"Lead the way."

Hope nodded and began to lead the way. We followed Hope around the crates, keeping low so that the patrolling soldiers wouldn't spot us. Silently, we worked our way through the maze of crates and boxes towards the tunnel that would be our salvation.

The tunnel was in sight now, a large pipe with a wide crack big enough for us to enter. We continued down the tunnel, following its twists and turns.

"Do you know where this comes out?" Lightning asked the boy.

"I've never actually been this far." Hope admitted sheepishly, "But nobody uses them anymore. Not even the army knows about it."

"Good."

We followed the tunnel even further, our footsteps echoing off the slime-covered walls of the pipe. It was another ten minutes before the tunnel abruptly ended.

I gasped, my eyes growing wide. "Whoa."

The tunnel had taken us to a massive, sprawling area filled with floating platforms and machinery. Below us was a lake that filled half the space. In the center was a floating, glowing being: a fal'Cie.

Lightning peered behinds us warily.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Hope reassured her. "Only kids like me know about that entrance."

"PSICOM'll find it eventually." I stated. They followed us everywhere else so far, "And when they do..."

"They'll flush the whole tunnel system." Lightning finished for me.

"Then we'd better hurry." Hope said, leading the way onto a platform that acted as an elevator.

Lightning and I stepped on, exchanging a worried glance. Hope's optimism was all well and good, but we knew that it was only a matter of time before PSICOM found this entrance and us.

"I learned about this place in school." Hope said, pushing a button on the elevator that sent us up to one of the other walkways.

 _'If they learn about it in school then why don't PSICOM know about it?'_ I had stopped at the railing of the walkway to stare up at the glowing, magnificent fal'Cie.

"That's the city's food production fal'Cie." Hope informed us. "It's called Carbuncle. That's one of our enemies, being Sanctum and all."

"So... kill him and cut off the food supply." Lightning said thoughtfully. "That'll make us popular."

"We're not here to destroy Cocoon, remember?" I reminded them. "It's Eden that we need to get to. And besides, we tried to take out a fal'Cie before and it hasn't turned out great for us."

"You're probably right." She conceded.

We ran down another platform. The platforms and walkways seemed to have no pattern to them, no real destination. We moved on, following the path higher, until we were above the fal'Cie.

"Look at us: Pulse l'Cie using a Sanctum fal'Cie to tell where we're going. Sort of strange." Hope commented out of the blue.

"Not really." Lightning responded. "We've relied on them our whole lives. The food we eat, the light and water. It's all from the fal'Cie." She stopped and looked down at the fal'Cie. "You know, I think Cocoon was really built for them. The rest of us, we're just leeches. Parasites."

"They protect us, nurture us." Hope supplied. "They take care of, well, normal people." He looked at us. "They treat us like we're special, almost like..." Hope paused for a moment, and then he clapped his hands together. "Like we're pets!"

Lightning's eyes grew round as if she was struck with an epiphany. "Like pets." She murmured, walking forward. "To them, we _are_ just pets. That's it. Now it makes sense. I've... been so blind. I was born into a fal'Cie world, raised on a fal'Cie leash. It was the only life I knew how to live."

"That's generally how it works." I said crossing my arms, "We've relied on the fal'Cie our entire lives and they can throw it away as they please with things like the Purge and the War. Why? Because they're like Gods and we're just normal human play-things who can't fight back. Where I come from we refused to play by that game – we reject their reality."

"You don't understand!" She shouted, rounding on me. "When it was taken from me, I was completely lost. Without a master to follow, my life had no purpose."

"Then give yourself a purpose!" I shouted back. I used to think exactly like that on Pulse. Our tribe didn't want to live as fal'Cie slaves, fighting every single day without rest just to make it to tomorrow. We strive to break the never ending circle…to break the chain the binds us to the fal'Cie's whims.

"Listen to me!" She hissed. "This l'Cie curse, it took everything from me. My future, my dreams, I didn't want to think! So I fought instead. As long as I was fighting, nothing else was real."

"Well this _is_ real!" I yelled, frustrated with her. She can't lose her head now. She started this merry band adventure and I'll be damned if I let her quit now after leading us this far. "This mission that we set out on is real! We've made it this far because we're fighting for something real!"

"I was running away!" She retorted. "And you, both of you, got dragged along with me."

"What about Operation Nora?" I questioned, for Hope had a clueless look on his face. "Was that running away too?"

"Operation Nora is over." She said with resolution.

"What?" Hope gasped, finally beginning to understand. "No! You told me to fight!" Hope advanced on her, suddenly furious.

"I made a mistake!"

"You can't do this." He said his voice lowering. "You can't just build something up like that and then abandon me."

Lightning stepped in front of Hope and placed both hands on his shoulders. "I won't abandon you." She said with no doubt in her voice.

"So you're not running away?"

Lightning didn't reply, instead heading back down the walkway. We couldn't tell what she was thinking at this point.

"Come on, Hope." I said, dragging the boy by his jacket after her. When he gained his balance I let go.

"What do we do now, then?" Hope asked looking at his brand.

"I didn't mean we should give up." Lightning clarified.

"Then what battles do we fight?! And against who?!"

"I don't know yet." Lighting replied helplessly, "…But I do know that we can't lose hope."

"Hope?" The boy looked down and walked away from her, sitting down on a set of stairs ahead of us. "There is no hope, not for l'Cie."

"There's you." Lightning said, her expression softening.

"It's my name, not who I am." Hope said his eyes downcast.

"I'm sure your parents named you that for a reason." I told him. "We're not giving up just yet." I can't let them give up after coming this far, "We've come too far to give up now. Look at what we accomplished so far. We can go further." I encouraged grabbing his branded wrist, "We won't let this..." I showed him his brand, "…hold us back. This won't be our fate."

Lightning nodded in agreement, "I was just like you. My parents died. I had to be strong for Serah, so I thought I needed to forget my past and I became Lightning. I thought that by changing my name, I could change who I was. I was just a kid." She closed her eyes, "Lightning." She continued. "It flashes bright then fades away. It can't protect, it only destroys…Serah tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen." She suddenly stood, "The only one who believed her was Snow."

"Don't say it!" Hope yelled suddenly. "Don't say his name. It brings everything back."

"Your mother?"

"I keep playing it in my head, what happened to her. And then I see his stupid face and...and he's _smiling_." Hope hung his head. "How can he smile when she's dead?" Lightning reached out to him, but Hope stood up. "I know! There's nothing I can do about it. I hate knowing that. No matter what happens, she's not coming back!" He clutched at his wrist again. "When I was fighting, there was no time to think about it. It felt good just to give in. But now you start talking about hope..."

"Hope," I said, standing. "I know how you feel..." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't know anything!" He retorted pushing my hand away.

"Don't I? I was taken from my home and everyone I've ever known is dead."

Hope took a ragged breath. "Sorry."

"Listen to me," I said urgently, crouching down in front of him. "Losing yourself in the fight is fine for a while, but sooner or later you're going to have to face the truth."

"Which is?"

"That's something only you can answer, Hope. Just know that you're not alone... not like I am."

I was trying to comfort him, because I knew how unhealthy it was to dwell on the past.

"You're not alone, Eria." Lightning said quietly and Hope nodded.

I sighed and smiled up at the two of them. "I guess not."

"I'm sorry. I'm messed up." Hope said finally.

"You won't always be like that." I said reassuringly patting his shoulder. "Well now that we've cleared the air of that let's keep going."

-0-

Finally, we came to an elevator at the end of one of the walkways.

"Finally!" I said, leading the way towards the elevator, "That place was a maze. I hope they shot the architect."

Hope, meanwhile, had been silent, his eyes glued to his feet.

"Talk to your dad." Lightning said when she noticed his disposition.

"What? Why?" He asked, stepping into the elevator after us.

"Fighting without hope is no way to live." Lightning said, pushing a few buttons which resulted in the elevator surging with power. "It's just a way to die."

I rolled my eyes. She could be so dramatic sometimes, no matter how true her words were.

"I want you to find the hope you were named for." Lightning said slowly. "Staying alive, we can help you with. But we cant-" She paused, trying to find the words. "I can't give you hope. If you go to see your father..."

Hope interrupted her, "You think meeting my dad will make anything better? He's never listened to a word I've said. He's just – he'll never believe all this l'Cie stuff."

"He's your father, Hope." I told him. "He'll believe you."

The elevator shuddered and began to ascend.

"Snow believed Serah, didn't he?" Hope asked.

Lightning sighed. "Yeah."

"You believed her." I said.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with regret. "Not when she told me."

"But you went looking for her, didn't you?" I reminded. "You tried to save her."

"But I couldn't. I couldn't save her."

"You tried and that's all we can ever do." I said quietly.

The elevator jolted to a stop and we emerged in the town square. Sensing danger Lightning drew her gunblade, leaving it in its rifle form, "So much for the station."

Above us was a tall tower with a screen at the top. A spokesperson was speaking loudly with authority.

 **" _In a recently convened emergency conference, the Sanctum announced that the fugitive l'Cie have been located. The military plans to apprehend the l'Cie and carry out a public execution."_**

"That can't be good." I said drawing my weapon.

 ** _"These images coming to you live from the scene in Palumpolum."_** The screen cut to an image of the square and us in the center. A loud whirring sounded, and several PSICOM ships and shock troops began to surround the area. The soldiers swarmed in the hundreds, man and machine alike, all responding to the l'Cie threat.

"These are l'Cie. Show no mercy. They aren't people. They're targets."

I crouched slightly trying to flank Lighting and Hope but with soldiers surrounding on all sides it may prove pointless.

"Start running. I'll keep 'em busy." She said to Hope, who had a look of terror on his face.

"But-!"

"You survive."

Hope slowly backed away gasping.

"Go, Hope." I encouraged him pushing him back further, hoping that he would run and never look back.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the ground. Smoke billowed from a point on the raised dais of the stands. Whatever was happening, it distracted the soldiers. Snow. He disarmed the soldiers on the dais and was soon joined by a dark haired woman wearing a blue, aboriginal garb. Snow launched a blue crystal into the air and shot it with one of the soldier's guns. The crystal exploded in a shower of ice. The ice cascaded all around the square, flowing into ice tracks that bowled down soldiers. From the crystal emerged two mechanical women dancing and flowing with one another before shifting into a motorbike. They must be Snow's Eidolon. The Shiva sisters.

Snow leaped from the dais and on the seat with the woman behind him and began to ride towards us running over any soldier that got in their way.

"It's him!" Hope yelled, stepping forward, but Lightning pulled him back, dragging him through the wave of soldiers, firing rapidly. I followed her example firing off fire and water laced arrows. The soldiers were fewer now, several having fled the scene once Snow had appeared with the mysterious woman. Above us, Rosch's ship ascended left the Plaza as his plan turned was ruined. The soldiers were retreating in our wake and Snow piloted the motorcycle towards us, giving a cry of jubilation as the motorcycle roared to a stop.

"Hey!" He shouted, winking at us. They both stepped down from the vehicle and approached us. The woman was tall and slightly tanned with a burnt l'Cie brand decorated her right arm.

"Hrmp." Lightning shoved Hope towards Snow. "Take care of him." She ordered Snow before turning to me, "And you – you're on your own."

"What?" I gasped in disbelief of her sudden change in attitude. But I guess I shouldn't call it a sudden change, her attitude changes as much as the weather.

"I don't want you dragging me down any more." She said harshly, "It's your fault this purge started."

"Why? Because I'm from Pulse that you think it's my fault…?" I questioned her, "Because of your sister? You're blaming that on me now?"

"Lightning, listen to me." Snow started to say.

"Get moving!" She commanded, not wanting to hear anything Snow had to say.

"No, you don't understand!" He yelled frustrated, trying to get through her stubborn head, "Serah's all right! She'll turn back!"

Lightning paused. "Take care of Hope." She repeated, and then she headed towards the exit.

I was torn momentarily. If Lightning didn't want me to follow her anymore –fine. Snow could take care of Hope and bring him home to his father. From now on then I'm going on my own like I should've done from the beginning.

With that decision made I ran ignoring the others yelling, "wait!" I'm waiting for no one now. I'm getting to Gran Pulse on my own.

 **-0-**

I had used one of the ice slopes that Snow made to get back to Palumpolum and the moment I hit the streets I was bombarded by soldiers left and right. I had enough pent up frustration and anger to take them all out and keep moving forward. Citizens ran away screaming when they saw me- no doubt having seen my face when Yaang Rosch broadcasted to the entire city and no doubt the world.

 **"There she is!"**

 **"Open fire!"**

"Tsk!" I drew another arrow and combined it with a Fira and Aerora spell, letting the wind feed the flames to attack the closest mob in range. With all of them coming at me like this it was best to keep them far away from me as possible.

A bullet had managed to nick me on the arm but I hardly let that stop me. These soldiers want a battle? I'll give them a war – Gran Pulse style! Even alone I can Pierce & Burn the best of them. (Can't really slash with a bow so I change the combo 'Slash and Burn' to 'Pierce and Burn')And when I had a brief moment to rest I could use the only cure spell I knew to heal my worst injuries. I couldn't stop though…the army knows I'm fighting alone so they know they can pick me off quickly…that means I can't stop moving no matter how tired I'll become. I can't stop for anything.

 **"Target spotted!"**

I looked up and scowled. I must've made them angry…they're sending in the big guns to take me out. I looked around my surroundings and figured that I was in some kind of public shopping district. A few civilian were still running and scattering when PSICOM and their Bioweapons appeared with their guns drawn, but they didn't concern me, I was looking for good possible hiding spots to take cover. I had used my Libra scope when I saw them approaching and had enough time to find out that they are Orion – more advanced than the one we saw at the temple in Lake Bresha , a Lodestar Behemoth, and a Falco Velocycle and I did not like the look of that Gatling Gun mounted on it.

 **"Surrender and die!"**

"Hmp." I reached behind my head to pull another arrow and dread filled my heart when I felt only one left. One arrow…three big targets…I hadn't found any treasure or stations lying around to restock myself…this is bad. ' _Is this where I make my last stand?'_ The Lodestar Behemoth roared in my face, blowing back my hair and sarong. _'But…I didn't come this far…'_ I pulled the arrow out and notched it in my bow, pulling the string back to my cheek. Even my bow was in terrible condition considering I've been using it since Vile Peaks. _'…to die now…I will not end this way…'_ I poured all the magic I had into the arrow head. I'm sure it wasn't a good idea to combine the strongest magic I knew together like this but if I'm dying – I'm dying stupid.

I released the arrow just as the monsters attack. Right in the middle of it all was a big explosion that blew me back.

-0-

 _The wonderful sound of laughter and upbeat music was always a rarity on Gran Pulse…when we have to constantly fight for land and food we often forget that we ourselves are human and that we need to enjoy each other's company for we lose friends and family every day because of the fal'Cie and because of life. We try not to let that weigh on our minds and actually try to settle and make a life…one where we can all just…live._

 _"Eria!" My sweet mother sang my name waving at me across the glen._

 _"Mom!" I pumped my little legs as fast as I could to reach her. Her and dad had left me briefly to help set up the food and games for the clan to play and eat. We had a good harvest and hunt these coming weeks and we all decided to forget the monsters and come together as a clan to celebrate._

 _"There's my little birthday girl!" My mother smiled brightly catching my when I jumped onto her arms. She held me tightly swinging me back and forth. "Are you having fun, dear?"_

 _I nodded against her chest three times before she let me down, "I was watching the Hunters dance!" I told her excitedly, bouncing on my feet as I recalled the intricate dance they performed, "Can I be a Hunter when I'm older, mom?"_

 _She giggled and brushed my hair back, "Of course you can, dear. Maybe even your dad will teach you."_

 _Speaking of dad he came to us with his strong arms full of food and weapons. Often the combination he had when he came home. "How's my birthday girl?" He asked dropping his spoils on the ground._

 _"I'm good!" I giggled walking over the pile of goods he most likely swiped from the festivities, "Ooh! Wow!" I picked up a large bulky bow that was bigger than me! "Can I be a Shooter Hunter? Can I? Can I? Please?" I tumbled back on my butt because of the heavy weight of the bow. "Hehehehe!"_

 _My parents laughed as well. "That bow is bigger than you are dear!"_

 _My father kneeled down in front of me, his leopard styled cloak he skinned from Ugallu, "Maybe not that bow…but how about this one?" From behind him he pulled out one more suited for kids my size._

 _I gasped and let out an excited happy squeak. I grabbed the bow after hugging him and mom. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"_

 _"Found that little prize in the Faultwarrens." Dad said with pride. Dad and his friends often go to the Faultwarrens to keep up in strength. A few others dare to go there to face the Titan's trials but not many make it that far into the trials. Most are very lucky to make it out alive._

 _"Really?!" I gaped looking at the smooth carved design. "Can you teach me dad?"_

 _He let out a laugh and nudged me to the open field where other children were practicing with weapons as well. Not all parents were happy with children playing with weapons so early on, but it was a necessity. Fathers and brothers weren't completely cruel when teaching children the ways of hunting and scavenging, they teach with hope and tenderness with a hand of strictness because as children we are also the future…they teach us to help each other and to get along…to show love and to be strong. We help each other light the way in our darkest hours and try to make a better day for each other because in the end…all we have is each other._

 _"Okay dear. We start with immobile target." Dad points to a stuffed Grimmlin. He kneels behind me to help me hold the bow and arrow properly, "That's it." He adjusts my arms and feet. "Arrow straight and steady...pull it all the way back to your cheek."_

 _"Keep both eyes open dear!" Mom coaches when I tried to close one eye to aim better._

 _"Relax your breathing." Dad placed his big hands on my shoulders, "…good…and release!"_

 _I exhaled and let go of the string. The arrow left the string and embedded itself in the center of the stuffed Grimmlin. "I did it!"_

 _My parents cheered happily, both scooping me up into their arms and hugged me at the same time giving me many praises on how well I did and what I great Hunter I would be._

 _I would be a great Hunter not only for myself but for my parents and for my family that is everyone…I will not be beaten down by the monsters or the Pulse fal'Cie…I will help carve the way for us to claim Gran Pulse for our own… a way for us to live free of fear…free of the shackles that try to bind us to a never end loop of struggle. I will not be bound down by the fal'Cie…_

-0-

 _'I will not be bound down…'_ I brushed off the dirt and debris that fell on me after I was blasted through the building. I struggled to get to my feet only to stumble because my legs gave out. _'I will not be bound down…I will not give up…'_ I opened my eyes to face my enemies. My arrow only scuffed them…hardly did any damage. "I'm not…" I spit out blood that had pooled in my mouth, "…done." I felt blood run down the side of my face, no doubt a head wound that I can't feel at the moment with all the adrenaline rushing through my veins. _'You've taken me from my home…my family…'_ I used my hands to try to get myself back to my feet, my bow lay broken a few meters away, "…the only other thing you can…take from me…is my life…" It took much effort that I didn't even know I had to stand unevenly on my feet, "…but…I won't…let you…take that from me…!" I felt my right hand burn. I looked at it…my brand glowed a misty silver color. "As if I didn't have enough problems." I let out a small pained scream when a crystal in a shape of a curing wave.

The Eidolith shot above my head and a large intricate symbol appeared below my feet. Great. My Eidolon is going to make an appearance to put me out of my misery too. To hell with that…to hell with Cocoon and its fal'Cie…to hell with PSICOM…to hell with everyone and everything.

"I don't care anymore dammit!" I screamed the Eidolith shattered in a burst of light much like Lightning and Snow's did. Without much warning cool water burst from the crystal remains, pushing the large enemies back like a relentless tidal wave. The water cyclone around me oddly enough as if holding me, protecting me as it took out the rest of the PSICOM fleet.

"Well, that takes care of one of my problems." I grunted hold my branded hand over my heart when I felt a sharp jolt go through it. "Ahh!" The cyclone fell away turning into harmless water that lapped at my ankles.

 ** _*Roar!*_**

Through the pain I looked straight ahead to see the one responsible for all this water. My Eidolon.

"…Leviathan…" (For reference please consult with the Leviathan from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings)

It crossed its scaled arms across its chest and stared at me expectantly. Oh great. Lightning had to fight her Eidolon in order to save her life. How was I supposed to defend myself when I have no weapon and wounded? I could already feel my own Doom clock ticking.

I let out a defeated sigh and stared it straight in the eyes, "Do your worst…"

It grumbled as it lifted one hand towards me. I braced myself for the worst…but instead of feeling pain I felt nothing? I looked at it again to see it still pointing. What's it pointing at?

I turned around to look behind me to see my once broken weapon repaired. Had it done that? Why? To give me a fair chance at fighting for my life? Why was it being merciful? Should I really question its motives? Shrugging I picked up my repaired bow and amazingly my arrows have been restocked too. "What the hell?" I turned to Leviathan with a tired smirk, "I'll try to give it my best." I told it, readying my weapon.

 ** _*Roar!*_**

 **Battle Commence**

I knew very little about Leviathan but if I was stating the obvious here – it's a water type Eidolon so naturally its weakness would be thunder…what I would give to have Lightning's Odin here at the moment. Oh well…I'll have to make due with Ruin and Thunder.

It's Barracuda Dive and Tidal roar attacks were a pain to endure but I retaliated with thunder and ruin to get its gauge up. It kindly healed me a tiny bit every now and again when it hits me hard but I knew I had to win its favor if I want its respect as a fighter.

"Take this!" I shouted firing off one last arrow I coated with Blizzard and Thundara. When it hit home Leviathan roared with approval. Laughing lightly I jumped in the air high enough to land on the crown of its head and we both struck a victorious pose. "Fate is ours!"

 **Battle End**

When Leviathan placed me down on the ground it points to my bow again and to my astonishment he transformed it into a shape of a serpent with ancient dialect carved into it! He returned back to its Eidolith form and disappeared into my right hand I felt a little better…like a piece of burden had lifted. "Thank you." I said gratefully to my brand. I felt it warm a bit before my hand returned to normal temperature.

"Phew." I sank to my knees in exhaustion. Maybe I should drag myself to the nearest dark corner to rest for a bit. A rest sounds good. When I got to my feet again a nearby explosion nearly knocked me back down with the aftershock.

 _'Could it be…the others?'_ I started towards the explosion but then stopped. Second thoughts consumed me. Should I go towards them? Would they accept me? I'm from Gran Pulse…an enemy of Cocoon just as they are my enemies…Lightning blames me for the Purge…who knows if the others feel the same? What if Lightning's right? When I somehow came to Cocoon…without my knowing…did I somehow start the Purge? If I did…I should make it right…

"After all…we're all l'Cie to the end." Shaking my head I ran to the direction of the explosion, praying that I wouldn't be too late.

-0-0-0-

From my point of view on the roof I could notice the writing emblazoned on the side of the bioweapon reading: 'Ushumgal Subjugator.'

It looked like a tough piece of work and Hope is fighting it on his own…and losing badly. Where the heck was Snow? He's supposed to be protecting Hope.

"Hang on, Hope!" I yelled, pulling out an arrow and took aim at the bioweapon. This thing looked like it could fly so I wanted to keep my vantage point on the roof, "We can take it together!"

"Eria!" Hope gasped, probably startled to see me.

I used magic to get the Subjugator's attention, giving Hope a chance to recover. Subjugator swiped at me with its huge forearm, but I jumped out of the way in just the nick of time. I had lost my vantage point but at least I was next to Hope. "You okay?" I asked, bracing myself when the Subjugator fired at us. We backed up in time so it barely missed us by our toes.

"I'm fine!" Hope replied panting, "Why'd you come back?"

I pushed him to the side when the claw struck down on us, "We l'Cie have to stick together! Even if you all hate me for being from Pulse…I can't turn my back on you all after everything we've been through!"

I coated an arrow with a Fira and released it. Hope backed me up with protective spells at just the right time when it rained Lightning on us. "Gyah!" "Ahhh!" We both fell on our backs in pain. His protective spells only took away some of the pain. This is one powerful weapon.

"You kids okay?" From behind us the dark-haired woman and Lightning rushed to our sides.

"Where's Snow?" Lightning asked when she joined us.

"He's okay." Hope assured her as he got back to his feet.

"Wish we were." I grunted using my bow to help me get back on my feet. I haven't recovered that much from my last fight.

"What are its weak points?" Lightning asked, skillfully dodging one of the Subjugator's flailing limbs.

I quickly threw a Libra scope. "It doesn't have any!" I shouted as a beam of energy was shot at me, leaving a smoking mark inches from my left foot. I jumped back parallel to Fang and fired, leaving several shallow dents in its armor, and leapt backwards when another energy beam was shot at me.

We weren't doing any noticeable damage to it. Our attacks were useless against something as big as this. Snow was down for the count; Hope was switching between healing us and giving us protection while Lightning and Fang unleashed their fury on the airborne bioweapon. I stood back, trying to find some kind of opening. Foolish of me to stand still for even a moment, a massive limb hit me hard in the ribs, knocking me straight off my feet.

"Eria!"

I rolled on my side holding my stomach in pain. The burning was awful, I felt like I couldn't breathe properly. "Erk…"

"Hope! Heal her!"

I heard him running to me and felt his gloved hand on my bare arm. "Hold on, Eria." He soothed me. It was a little funny how the tables had turned. Usually in battle Hope was the one on the ground and someone else had to cover him, now it's me writhing on the ground in pain looking to him for comfort.

"Here." Hope's hand hovers over my stomach and a wave a green magic washed over my skin. I let out a breath when I felt the pain vanish almost instantly. "How do you feel now?"

"Thanks." I panted lightly, happy that the excruciating pain was going away. "I feel better than before." With his help I was able to get back up and rejoin the fight.

"Change in plans!" Lightning shouted, "Keep the enemy off balance!"

The tall woman twirled her lance expertly while smirking, "Don't get predictable." She started waving her arm back and forth, trying to stick some de-buffs on the machine, "You're gonna squirm!" She shouted at the machine.

"We've got to get its stagger up." Hope said switching to his Ravager mode. "With them hitting it like that – it should be easy." He waved his arm throwing Thundara and Aero spells at it.

"And when it's staggered we hit it hard!" I agreed with his plan because it was the only one. Lightning and Fang over heard and did their best to put the hurt on this machine. It was hard because even with Slow casted on it, it still attacked us hard and fast. But we soon caught onto its attack rhythm, helping us create one of our own. We had to switch Paradigm a lot but we found a way that worked.

"Now!" Fang and Lightning shouted together, both launching the Subjugator in the air.

"Got it!" I extended my right arm out to the side with my palm open. I felt my hand burn warmly as I called for my Eidolon. "Leviathan." I whispered as I raised my arm to stretch above my head my palm now facing the sky. When I felt the Eidolith in my hand I threw it into the sky as high as I could. I pulled an arrow and fired it at the Eidolith. When it shattered the seal appeared around me just as before and water geysers rose around me like pillars. I smirked deviously when Leviathan emerged from the waters that pooled at our feet with a mighty roar. "Keep up the pressure!" I shouted pointing to our foe.

With the bioweapon already staggered it had no chance against our attacks. We had a good combo attack of me dealing thunder damage while Leviathan coated it with water attacks. I could tell that it was finally on its last legs. One more big attack should do it. "Ride the current!" I called to Leviathan. He nodded and transformed into his other form, without his arms and legs he could levitate better. I jumped onto the crown of his head and pointed down, "Take it down!"

Leviathan roared and unleashed its ultimate final attack: Tidal Wave.

The subjugator didn't stand a chance against the massive tidal wave and completely short-circuited when the attack ended. Jumping down, my feet made a splash in the remaining water; I gave a short waved to Leviathan, "Thanks a lot." He nodded and disappeared back into my brand but not before giving all of us a good healing boost after such a battle.

"Not bad." The dark haired woman praised, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled softly at her, "Thanks." I fully took in her attire while Hope went over to Lightning with the dagger in hand. "Those clothes…are you…from…"

The woman chuckled, "Yep. I'm from Gran Pulse." She pointed her finger at me smiling, "Same as you."

I couldn't really contain it. I wrapped my arms around the tall woman and hugged her in relief, "Thank Goddess I'm not the only one from Pulse on in this hell hole."

I heard her laugh and felt her pat my head, "I'm not the only one either. Vanille is too."

Pulling away from her I gave her a bemused look, "Not that hard to figure out really." I gestured to our clothes, "We don't exactly blend in here."

"Snow!" Hope gasped bring us back to one of our objectives, "He's still hurt." We all ran over to see him still unconscious after all that. "Do you think he's...?" Hope posed the question.

"He'll be just fine." Lightning assured him with amusement in her tone. With Fang's help they were able to support him on both their shoulders. "He's too stubborn to die."

"How far to your Dad's?" I asked Hope.

Hope seemed hesitant if not nervous when I asked him. He must not have come to complete terms that he was really so close to home. "We're close…" He began walking slowly towards an arch, "…it's not all that far actually. Follow me." Hope led the way and we all followed.

-0-

Hope led the way up a flight of stairs and stopped at a long brown door. If Snow wasn't so injured we would've given him the time he needed to gather the courage to knock on the door when he was ready. Unfortunately we were pressed for time and the military is still tracking us. We didn't want to put Hope's father at risk but we all promised to get Hope home and Snow needed medical attention. Though, the outside of his house is very beautiful.

"It'll be okay." I assured him placing a hand on his arm. I wasn't Vanille but I could comfort him as best I could. "We're right here with you."

Hope nodded, and turned to the door, pressing the doorbell. The door slid open, and a tall man in a business suit and glasses stepped out, gasping as he saw Hope.

"Hope!"

Hope didn't respond immediately to the man's elation. "…Mom's gone."

-0-

Bartholomew Estheim lived in a large, classy home. All the furniture looked brand new, and very expensive, but only Fang and I stopped to admire. Never would've guessed that Hope came from such a rich family. I was afraid to touch most of the things in here. However looking around the halls and dining room (Hope and his father are occupying the living room) I notice that there weren't too many personal items. Everything was well placed and neat…it hardly looked lived in…it's all…perfect.

"We're just going to rest up." I heard Hope's voice coming closer into the hall. "Then we'll leave. If they find out you're sheltering l'Cie, they'll-" he got cut off by a loud, forceful slam on the table.

"You're my son!" His dad shouted in a loud voice. "This is _your_ home."

After that outburst it went quite. I assumed that they were somehow rekindling and went into the dining room where Fang snuck off. I found her standing in front of the large screen tv with her arms crossed. Great, a news update.

" _Roughly twenty-five hundred civilians believed to have come in contact with the l'Cie are now being held in quarantine by the Sanctum." The news-reader said. "Our latest insta-poll has shown a vast majority in favor of the immediate Purging of these individuals..."_

Unable to take anymore I turned around to leave only to see Hope standing in the doorway.

"My dad said he'd like to see you guys. He wants to talk."

-0-

* * *

A pregnant silence surrounded the room as we waited for someone to break the silence first. I began to tap my foot on the floor, feeling anxious. This was starting to get really uncomfortable.

I straighten up the minute Snow breathed in deeply before looking up, a determined look in his eyes. He stood up before falling to his knees, his eyes on Hope's father.

"The blame is mine. I couldn't save her." He said as he bowed his head.

Bartholomew lowered his head, a long sigh escaping his lips.

My gaze swiveled towards Hope when he leaned forward. "If it wasn't for Snow, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Snow. Did Nora…Did she say anything to you?"

"Hope…She said to…to get him home."

"Snow…that's exactly what you've done." Snow's head snapped up the moment those words left Bartholomew's lips. The others breathed out a sigh of relief, Snow had dodged an apocalypse on that one. "Face to face like this, it's hard to believe you're all dangerous fugitives. But the entire world is scared to death of you l'Cie. No, not even just you. People who've helped you, bumped into you… Sometimes it's even just people who've walked by one of you. They think they're 'tainted' and want every one of them Purged."

"The Sanctum's a puppet of the fal'Cie!" Snow practically yelled. "To them our lives don't mean anything at all. We'll stop this. Take down the Sanctum, _and_ save Cocoon."

Here we go again with the hero talk…

"You thought that through?" Bartholomew asked seriously, his eyebrows knitted together. I raised an eyebrow when Snow lowered his clenched fist, a surprised look crossing his features. "If l'Cie take down the Sanctum, fear of Pulse will only get worse. It won't stop at fear. People will take up arms and stand against you." The brown haired man explained, looking around at everyone in the room. "Can you imagine it? The rampant violence?"

"When the government's control is gone, the citizen's will revolt." Lightning said as realization dawned her. They had been thinking too narrowed minded about their mission. They were more worried about getting revenge for their lives being played with – we haven't factored in the other lives of the people.

"So, what then?" Fang bites annoyed standing up from her perch on a chair. "We're supposed to just smile and eat a bullet? That means you, too."

I crossed my arms, "Let them revolt. I refuse to just lay down and die."

"I know I'm part of this." Dad replied with a small chuckle. "I'm on your side of the fence. Harborer of l'Cie, and a public enemy."

I frowned at this, but stayed silent. It was true though. We should've just dropped Hope off and tried to continue on and pray that they don't sniff Hope out here.

"Coming here was a bad idea." Hope spoke with regret and fear.

Bartholomew placed a hand on Hope's shoulder, "This is your home." Hope smiled for the first time in a long time, "We're all here. Let's figure this out together." He said confidently to the group.

Just as he finished saying that, the lights went out. The only source of light we had was from outside and from Lightning's shoulder pad. We all got to our feet looking around, expecting something to jump at us. This was ordinary black out, someone cut the power. We stayed silent. I stalked quietly to the window and placed my back against the wall and peeked outside. It was PSICOM.

"They're here." I hissed.

Lightning gasped staring up at the ceiling, "Heads up!"

Glass shattered above our heads and a pair of smoke bombs bombarded us. I heard more glass shatter, but my vision was clouded by the smoke.

"Dammit!" I coughed; lifting a hand to cover my face as I slowly began to back up. However, I was stopped when the sound of a gun reloading reached my ears. It sounded too close for comfort. I turned my head to find a PSICOM soldier pointing the gun in my face.

"End of the-" The soldier was interrupted by foot in his gut. I quickly turned and kicked the man on the side just in case before pivoting on my heel and joining Lightning, Fang and Hope.

Fang was the first to move, lifting the soldier closest to her into the air with a strong hit from her bladed lance. Lightning launched herself towards the man in the air, successfully getting the blade through his chest. Hope followed after her on Ravager role, freezing the soldiers closest to him. I quickly launched my Aero coated arrows in their direction, successfully knocking some off their feet.

A PSICOM scavenger came rushing towards me, his weapon raised above his head with the obvious intention to strike me. I was able to lean away from the sloppy attack smacking him hard with my bow. He staggered backwards, but quickly recovered and rushed over to attack me again. This time he landed a punch on my ribs, causing me to groan and fall to my knees. I quickly looked up only to get a strike across the face.

"Ugh… " Seeing the man cockily crack his knuckles gave me the chance to swing my legs below him and knock him off his feet.

"AHH! You little-!" The man groaned as I pierced my arrow in my hand on his leg. I quickly scrambled to my feet, lifting a leg to kick the man across his masked face and knocked him out.

I looked around the used to be living room. If the house wasn't in shambles before it officially is now. Perhaps we should've taken the fighting outside.

"Eria!" Hope walked over to me and offered me his hand to pull me up, which I took with a small nod in appreciation. Once on my feet, Hope's hand began to glow the all too familiar green, a curing spell washing over me.

"Hey." Lightning motioned us over as she and Fang pressed themselves to the wall, the wild haired woman looking out the window. Quickly understanding, Hope and I followed suit.

"If we barricade ourselves in here, they're not going to just give up and go away." Fang stated, peeking out the window while standing behind Light.

I was trying to see out the window as well, but was too far. I craned my neck to get some view, but was immediately blinded by a bright light. I hissed as I covered my eyes before blinking quickly.

"Who ordered the battalion?" Fang jokes, making it sound like one of actually called them.

"Isn't this a little overkill even for them?" I asked sarcastically.

"They'll take out the whole building next." Lightning said before motioning for dad and Snow to come over. Bartholomew went over to Hope while Snow slouched against the wall by Fang still in pain.

"Dad!" Hope immediately rushed over. Both father and son checked each other over for injuries.

"So what now?" I asked ignoring the family moment. We had a platoon and a battleship to deal with and even with three Eidolons it was going to be a challenge.

"My turn." I turned back to the others to Snow got up to his full height, taking off his trench coat in the process and leaving himself shirtless, bandages covering his ribs. He put his back to the wall, his trench coat in one hand, and then he held out that hand in front of the window. Bullets spewed from their rifles at the sight of the tan coat.

"Snow." Lightning approached him, but he held out his other hand to silence her.

"Don't shoot!" He shouted over the sound of bullets, "I'll show you what a l'Cie looks like!"

The rapid firing ceased and Snow stepped into the light, his hands up. Multitude of red dots from their guns danced around his body.

"Me! I'm a l'Cie!" He yelled, "Surprised? Expected some kind of monster? I'm flesh and blood like you! An ordinary citizen of Cocoon!" Snow's hands balled into fists. "Don't you get it?! This has been our home our whole lives! How could we even think about destroying it?! We want to protect this place just as much as you!"

Doubtful muttering broke out amongst the ranks of soldiers.

"You must be Snow Villiers." A new voice joined the throng, and a man I recognized stepped forward. I had seen him earlier today, at the Agora where Snow had appeared with Fang. "Yaag Rosch, PSICOM Division." The man introduced. He had silver hair and sported a black overcoat. "I understand your plight. However, the Pulse threat is not so easily dismissed. The very existence of you l'Cie puts every last one of us in danger." He paused. "Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon's citizens? I do not. And so, it falls to me to order your execution. It's that simple." It is my responsibility to see you put down."

I narrowed my eyes at Rosch. I stepped out with Snow wanting to say my piece. "I may not be from Cocoon but as a l'Cie I have something to say." Guns cocked at me, "That's right. I'm from Gran Pulse…the world below you all hate and fear. You're going to kill me over something I can't control?" I gesture to Snow and the others in the house, "You're going to kill them- citizens of Cocoon who lived their lives ordinarily until the fal'Cie branded them as l'Cie?" I placed a hand on my chest, " _We_ didn't ask to become l'Cie! The fal'Cie did this to us! Why should we die over something the fal'Cie did? The same fal'Cie that your government tried to hide! Why should the victims be punished?!"

"As I said: Simple." Rosch turned ignoring everything that I said. "Your lives are forfeit."

"Aw, cut the crap!" Snow yelled. "Why do other people have to die?! The Purge has got to stop!"

"Do you think we want to Purge our own people?!" Rosch retorted. "If any trace of Pulse remains, the populace will erupt into chaos. Without sacrifice, without the Purge, Cocoon will die!"

At that moment, grenades bounced in front of the soldiers. Smoke billowed from them, and engulfed the soldiers. "Who fired? I gave no order!" Rosch coughed as smoke engulfed them.

Explosions rocked the rooftop, and bullets riddled the PSICOM troops. Pandemonium broke out among the soldiers.

"We're leaving!" Lightning shouted, standing. "Hope! Tie up your dad." She ordered Hope. She turned to Bartholomew and explained her plan, "We threatened you and forced you to help us. Got it?"

"There must be something else-" Bartholomew started, but Hope spun around to face his father.

"Do what she says!" He demands. Bartholomew seemed taken aback by Hope. "I can't let you get dragged into this." Hope amended; never have yelled at his father before. Hope began to wrap a length of rope around his father's wrists. "I want to stay here. But there's no place for a l'Cie. I'm going with the others." He stood and went around to his father's front, so that he was facing him. "We'll survive somehow." Hope reassured him. "I promise you that."

I watched them share this moment, Fang standing beside me.

"Dad." Hope started. "I hate to run out on you-"

"You're not running!" Bartholomew suddenly shouted before softly saying, "This is not running away. You've made a choice." Bartholomew stood. "You'll survive and do what needs to be done."

"You mean complete my Focus?" Hope asked.

"Don't you worry about that!" Bartholomew said, shaking his head. "You make the choice."

Hope hesitated, then stepped towards his father and embraced him. "Thanks, Dad." Hope said after they broke apart.

"Damn it." Snow muttered from outside.

I looked up. The gunship was bearing down on him. "Hope!" I shouted wanting him out here with the rest of us.

"Our turn, Hero." Lightning said to Snow as we passed him.

"What? I can handle a little gas." Snow said weakly still coughing and holding his wound.

"Catch your breath!" Hope said loudly, blocking Snow's path. "I'll throw in some hits for you!"

I spotted the insignia on the side of the gunship. 'Havoc Skytank'. "Anyone know how to take out an airship from this distance?" I asked the group.

"Take out its guns!" Lightning starting barking orders, "It'll keep firing at us unless we take them out first…then we'll work on the hull."

"And team formation?"

Fang shook her fist at the ship, "I'll draw its attention. Hope buff us up!"

Hope nodded, "Right!"

-0-

Bits of metal rained down, and the engines began to sputter horribly. The ship fell, slowly, its entire frame ablaze, and it sank below the rooftop, the engines still sounding faintly. As the Skytank fell out of sight, another ship replaced it.

"Again?" Fang yelled aggravated. "There's no end to these guys!"

"What should we do?" We wasted most of our energy on the first one. It'll take a miracle to get through the second one.

Suddenly as if a by a ray of hope, a yellow beam of energy pierced the second Skytank, and the PSICOM ship exploded in a massive display of heat and light. I looked up to see another ship approaching us, its energy cannon slowly closing. We drew up our weapons, preparing for another fight.

The ship landed, and a ramp slid open, revealing several soldiers that ran towards us.

"Heya, Fang." One said. The soldier took off his helmet. The man had long, reddish-brown hair that flowed past his shoulders. "Need a ride?" He asked, chuckling.

"Don't get cute." She said affectionately. "Right." She turned to us and tilted her head towards the ship, "Let's move it."

I turned to Fang, "You know these guys?"

She winked at me, "Course. They're the Cavalry."

I faltered a bit. Ever since I came to Cocoon I've learned early on to not trust anyone wearing any kind of military uniform. Up to this point, who cares about the color or design? They're all out to get l'Cie.

"And you trust them?" My words were lost as almost everyone gathered towards the ship. Well…if I really have no other choice…


	6. Rescue Mission

All recognizable characters and main plot is owned by Square Enix! Thank you all for taking a few seconds to read and take care!

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Chapter 6: Reunite**

 _I looked up at the fireworks that illuminated the night sky and was momentarily stunned._

 _The Bodhum fireworks display was famous for some reason. I had heard that they're wishing fireworks._

 _There was a large crowd gathered at the beach, all staring up at the shower of sparks above the water most likely making wishes or sharing a romantic moment. Do I dare to make a childish wish myself? I think I prefer to make my goal happen by my own effort._

 _-0-_

My eyelids were heavy, but I pried them open slowly. My entire body ached when I realized I was sitting in an uncomfortable position on cold hard metal. You'd think a ship this fancy would have space for us to rest, but nope. For soldiers only apparently. I couldn't complain too much though, we finally had a decent meal for the first time in days. Food with actual flavors and not cooked meat over an open fire with ration bars as a side dish.

Yawning, I rubbed my neck to ease the pain that settled into it. Closing my mouth I looked around to see soldiers hustling and bustling as they usually do.

"Eria," I heard Hope call me. Looking to my right I saw him jogging towards me. When he reached me he bent down slightly, "The others told me to come get you. We're trying to figure out a plan to get Vanille and Sazh."

"Right." Yep. As soon as we boarded the ship we got the unpleasant news that our two comrades were captured. We didn't have a clue where they were but Fang's Calvary friend found clues.

I followed Hope to the airship hanger of the Lindblum, the Cavalry's airship, where the others were standing in front of three mounted screens watching the news. The news talked about nothing else but the Purge and l'Cie on the loose, so hopefully it'll give us some clue to where Vanille and Sazh could be.

" _There she is,"_ the newscaster said as the screen switched to a display of a massive silver ship flanked by other smaller ships. _"The Palamecia, pride of the Sanctum Skyfleet! This mighty flagship currently serves as a prison for the l'Cie apprehended in Nautilus. The l'Cie will face official sentencing upon the convoy's arrival in the capital."_

"So what's with the freak show?" Snow asked beside me.

Cid Raines answered him, "So the Primarch can stand victorious in judgment of the villainous l'Cie, with their execution as the climax," he said slowly, his shoulder-length black hair rustling as he turned back to the screen. "The people will cheer their demise, and fal'Cie dominion will be undisputed."

"All part of the plan," Lightning said, crossing her arms.

"Yes," Raines agreed. "But it also presents and opportunity."

" _In a display of unwavering dedication to duty, the Primarch himself has boarded the Palamecia and focused his personal attention on resolving the Pulse crisis."_

"They're baiting us. Trying to draw us out," Fang said, her hands on her hips and a scowl crossing her face.

"Bait, huh?" Snow repeated.

I took a few steps forward. "Yeah. They know we're still on the loose and they know that we'll want our friends back."

Snow grinned. "Well, if they're daring us to mount a rescue, I'll take that action," he pounded his fists together. "All in."

Rygdea chuckled, liking Snow's attitude, "Alrighty, bets are on the table. We leave when you're ready. I'll be standing by." He signaled where he will be standing so we will know where he will be when we're ready to get this show on the road.

I turned to the Raines, "Are we able to sneak in undetected?"

He nods, "The PSICOM fleet has us under surveillance. While they're busy watching the Lindblum, you all slip aboard the Palamecia. When the time is right, our brigade will launch an all-out assault to back you up."

Feeling a little more assured I went about the ship to talk to the others, asking each of them their thoughts about this mission. I found Snow first.

Snow pounded his fists together, "Rescuing Sazh and Vanille is our top priority. We've got to play it smart this time- no charging in without a plan."

Smirking I placed my hand on my hip, "I thought 'Heroes' don't need plans."

"Heh!" He chuckled, poking me in the head, "I know! Listen to me talking strategy. I guess I want to play it safe this time."

I nodded in understanding, "Yeah. We can't blow things up willy-nilly this time. We'll fall thousands of feet if we screw this up."

I jogged further down the deck to see Fang and Lightning standing near each other. Even though the two women were different on the outside, it's sometimes scary how similar the two can be. Both of them were ready to go and both reminded me to stock up on supplies and to be sure I was ready when we docked off. I assured them that I was ready and that I only needed to talk to Hope to be sure he was ready as well.

I found Hope staring out one of the large windows with his hands laced nervously in front of his stomach. He usually does that when he's either thinking or nervous. "Hope?" I called him softly, approaching him, "Are you ready to go?"

"Y-yeah…" He mutters, still looking out the window.

"What's wrong?" I walked over until I was standing right beside him, "Is it about your dad?"

He nodded, "He's alright…another Cavalry unit rescued him and moved him somewhere safe." He slouched a little bit, "I kind of wish I could talk to him, but I guess I have to make my own choices now."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey…you'll see him again." I assured him, "Once this is all over you'll have all the time in the world to talk."

He nods slowly, "Right…thanks Eria."

I gave him a lop-sided smile, "No problem." I took my hand off his shoulder, "I know you can make your own choices…you've come a long way."

"Really?" He chuckled uneasily, "I do feel a little different since I left home. Maybe I have gotten stronger?"

"Maybe." I teased, "How about we put it to the test and get this show on the road?"

"Right!" We gathered up the others and met up with Rygdea with looks of determination.

"Follow me," he said, leading us down the walkway of the bridge. Rygdea just smiled and lead us through a large door and when the door opened a large ship that awaited us.

"This baby back here's a PSICOM vessel," Rygdea said smugly. "It'll deliver you to the Palamecia."

"Oh, we're cargo now?" Snow asked lightly.

Rygdea laughed. "A parting gift to our rotting government. Take those PSICOM guys apart."

"And we're supposed to take on all of them?" Lightning asked. "I think the whole division's on board."

Fang took a step forward so that she was standing beside me. "I don't care how many lackey's they've got. Bring 'em on! Vanille's in there."

Hope was the one to reassure her, "I'm sure she's fine. Vanille's tougher than I could ever be."

I turned to him. "Hope, are you scared?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he admitted bravely for once, "I'm terrified. But I'll be okay." He looked up at us. "Because I have you and Light…And this guy," he indicated Snow, "and Fang. We're all in this mess. We've got to stick together."

I smiled; he had grown so much over the last few days.

"Right," Rygdea interrupted, smiling "Enough with the bonding. It's go time." He jerked his head to the ship and we all started moving. From behind me I could hear Snow and Hope laughing together.

"What do you mean, 'this guy'?" Snow teased him, putting him in a playful headlock. It was great to see the two of them on good terms now.

-0-

The docking bay of the Palamecia was a writhing mass of catwalks and machinery connecting the landing ramp. At the far end was a circular elevator leading up into the ship.

" _Code Red! Repeat, Code Red!"_ A voice sounded around us, echoing from the intercom. _"Attention all crew, this is not a drill! Code Red!"_

At that moment, the elevator descended rapidly, and three PSICOM soldiers exited, their guns up and aimed at us.

"Alright," Snow said, settling into a fighting stance. "Let's tear 'em up!"

Hope and I stayed back to let the adults, mostly Fang dish out the pain on the soldiers. With her pent up anger, she laid the soldiers out in record time. It was over in seconds.

"Come on, everyone," I said, heading to the elevator. I lead the way, stepping onto the platform and slamming my fist against the 'up' button. The elevator jolted and we were sent up. The elevator had stopped, far short of its destination.

"What now?" Hope asked.

I narrowed my eyes as I look in every inch of my surroundings. All these walkways and support beams made it difficult to determine what led to where but I wasn't going to let that deter me.

"We get off," I said, launching myself out of the elevator and onto the railing.

The others followed as I ran down the railing. The five of us were quick to cover its long expanse. The long corridor ended outside the ship. The exit was in fact a sheer drop onto several floating platforms that were a part of the ship's design. The fall was nothing for us l'Cie. Hope was the last to jump down when Snow looked up from where we all jumped.

"Won't be going back that way," Snow said, looking up at the door.

"We'll find another route," Lightning said, turning to look around.

"Way ahead of you, see that?" Fang pointed to a rounded, walled corridor leading back into the ship. A staircase of floating platforms preceded the entrance. "Don't go getting' blown away now," she said, her wild hair whipping in the wind.

"Right," I retorted sarcastically holding down the front of my sarong when a gust of wind threatened to expose more than just my thighs.

Fang took lead, stepping from platform to platform. The mechanical droids we ran into were a brutal to handle but with all of us working in sync we manage to make it out of each scarp.

"Not even l'Cie will survive a fall from this height," Fang said, craning her neck to see the stretch of water rumbling miles below us.

"Kind of makes you dizzy, doesn't it?" Hope asked, following Fang's gaze.

"The wind feels great, though." It reminded me of home.

-0-

Our band of l'Cie followed the corridor, which opened into a wide hallway heading both left and right. I pressed my back to the wall as Snow peered around the corner.

"Let us through!" he yelled to the soldiers on the other side. "Block our way, you die!"

Fang looked at him skeptically. "You _trying_ to get 'em angry?" she asked her hands on her hips.

Snow shrugged. "I thought maybe they'd run. There's been enough blood spilled."

Lightning placed her hands on her hips, "You thought they'd run? Let me refresh your memory. Those soldiers think they're protecting Cocoon from l'Cie. The fal'Cie have them all brainwashed."

Snow frowned before he slammed his fist into the wall, "I have had it! We cannot let this go on!"

The alarms seemed like a timed response.

" _Attention all crew: Code Green! Repeat: Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green!"_

After killing the soldiers and after I collected their credits we followed down the corridor.

" _Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! Security breach! All units on alert! Code Purple!_ "

The intercom blared overhead, startling us. "How many codes are we going through here, huh?" I asked getting annoyed with all the color sirens.

"All these colors…What's it mean?" Hope asked, cocking his head.

Fang looked down at him with a glint in her eye. "Means we're doing our job; making a lot of PSICOM guys nervous."

A sudden tremor rocked through the ship, and our group braced ourselves against the shaking ship.

"Who are they fighting?" Hope asked.

"Vanille," Fang breathed dangerously before rushing forward with her Lance in hand.

"Let's go," Lightning ordered, and we raced down the corridor, spurred on by the sounds of battle.

We kept pace for several minutes, none of us slowing, the doors passing us by in a blur.

 **-0-**

Our small group continued through the sprawling halls of the _Palamecia_. When we reached the outer edge of the ship and stepped onto the enormous wing.

"The wind, it's dying down," Hope stated nervously.

"Yeah, it's stopping," I replied, noticing the lack of wind even though we were outside.

"And we're decelerating," Lightning added as the wing flaps raised in front of us. "They up to something?"

"I don't suppose it could just be – I don't know – good luck?" Snow asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his black bandanna. He spoke too soon, for at that moment, hidden pockets in the wing slid open, expelling several bioweapons.

"That looks more like bad luck."

"You've a point," Snow acknowledges Fang, unperturbed by the appearance of enemies.

"Not to me," Lightning said, drawing her gunblade. "That? That we can do something about."

We marched forward, knowing it would be impossible to avoid a fight, let alone try to gain the advantage of surprise. We made our way through the wing flaps, dispatching any enemies as they came at us. The five of us headed into the open once more before we were forced to stop when a giant flying bioweapon headed our way, rising from the below the wing and stopping to float in front of us.

Fang stepped forward. "So, Light… How you figure this makes us lucky?"

"Because when we kill it, we one step closer to Vanille, how's that?"

The wild woman twirled her spear in figure eights. "Well, when you put it that way!" She smiled and then she struck, leaping up at the bioweapon.

Together, our relentless assault of magic and physical attacks began to wear on the creature. Its wings beat with less enthusiasm and its jaw snapped harmlessly at the air where we had been. Sharp talons tore at the ground, but we dodged and parried with ease. Finally, the bioweapon collapsed onto the end of the wing and slid down.

Snow punched the air joyously. "Now that's what you get for taking on the leader of NORA!" he cried.

I perked an eyebrow at him and looked over his shoulder to see another one coming at us. I casually pointed over his shoulder and he turned around.

"Another one!" Hope shouted.

Snow stepped to the front of our group and peered at the bioweapon. "One big, fat stroke of luck after another." he said sarcastically to Hope. "I'm so happy I could cry,"

The bioweapon swooped and we readied ourselves, but at the last moment, it pulled up and soared over our heads.

"Tease us, will ya?!" Fang shouted after it.

"Come down here!" Snow goaded, beating his fists together in anger.

Then an explosion rocked the side of the ship and a mass of smoke escaped from a large hole in the wall. We turned, expecting another fight.

Emerging from the smoke, chirping happily, was a small yellow chocobo chick!. Coughing, but grinning, two figures followed the tiny chick. The first was Vanille, waving the smoke from in front of her and clutching her wand.

I looked quickly at Fang, who leaned forward, as if unable to believe her eyes. "Vanille!"

The orange-haired girl looked up, her face breaking out into a smile. "Fang!" she shouted, running towards her.

Next was Sazh, his eyes twinkling as he saw us. He waved, his face alight with joy, "Hey!"

"There you are," Snow said as Sazh approached him, but Snow wasn't looking at Sazh.

"Miss me?" He asked Snow casually.

"Not you, the monster!" Snow cried. He was looking up, at a bioweapon that appeared above our heads.

-0- Battle over -0-

"Vanille!" Fang shouted again when the creature was sure as dead, and she went over and embraced the girl. Now that the danger was over, they could appreciate each other's company once more. I heard a soft sobbing sound and noticed that Vanille was crying. Tears of joy, of sorrow, of longing, all rolled into one moment.

I moved to Hope's side and we smiled softly at the scene. Everyone stood quietly letting the girls have the moment they deserve. After a few moments Fang knelt and turned the orange-haired girl around by her hip. Without another word she lifted up Vanille's skirt and examined the brand that was hidden on her upper thigh.

Hope, Snow, and Sazh all turned at the same time to look away, coughing loudly with embarrassment. Lightning and I looked at them all. At least they had the decency to turn away. Glad they have some morals.

"You've still got time," Fang said, relief in her voice.

"Fang," Vanille began. "There's – there's something I need to tell you…" but before she could finish, Fang was embracing her again.

"What's wrong?" Snow said suddenly, and I turned. He was looking at Sazh, who wore a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Oh, uh… nothing! It's nothing," he said, recovering quickly. "So, what's on the agenda?"

"Toppling the Sanctum," Snow said, as if it was obvious.

"No, I mean really?" Sazh said, half a smile lighting his face.

"He's serious," Lightning said beside me. "We're gonna take down the Sanctum and give Cocoon back to the people. The fal'Cie have called the shots long enough."

"If we pull this off, it will be a miracle," Hope added.

"Well, good thing Lady Luck's on our side," Fang said, shifting her weight.

Shadows passed over the wing of the ship and I looked up to see several more flying bioweapons soaring overhead.

"More of 'em?" Sazh said disbelievingly.

"You know, this is getting really old," Snow said sullenly.

Fang grinned. "Check this out. A miracle – Gran Pulse style!" She looked to me and smirked.

I smirked back, reading her idea perfectly. The three of us ran forward towards the edge of the wing.

"Alright, go fish!" Fang pointed at one of the bioweapons that was circling back towards us.

"Got it," Vanille acknowledged, raising her weapon.

"Leave it to me!" I pulled out and arrow with a rope tied to the end of it.

The bioweapon flew closer, and a stream of blue energy spat from its mouth, shaking the wing, but we were ready. As the machine flew away, she swung her weapon, and four ropes shot from it, extending further than I had ever seen them go. At the same moment, Fang sprinted down the wing, following the ropes. "Fang!" Vanille called, signaling her, and Fang jumped, high. The ropes latched onto the bioweapon and lurched backwards, pulled towards us by Vanille.

Fang had reached the height of her jump, and the bioweapon soared beneath her as it lost all forward momentum. Next moment, Fang had landed on the bioweapon, her spear thrusting into the creature's back and propelling it downwards.

My way was not as great as Fang's but it was decent enough. I fired an arrow at another bioweapon, piercing it through its appendage on its back. It screeched in pain but it kept flying. 'Not for long.' Grabbing the rope I sent magic down the line to subdue the beast. As it flailed in the air it made it a bit easier to reel it in.

Both creatures landed on the wing still struggling to escape from our traps.

"Not bad," Fang said to me before, signaling the others to join us, "Let's go!"

"Let's get on!" Vanille encouraged excitedly making the others followed after her.

Lightning got on with Vanille and Fang while the boys rode with me.

It was a bumpy ride as we ascended and flew around the airship. Most of us were sitting quite comfortably, on the creatures back. All except for Sazh, who had been the last to clamber on, and was hanging on for dear life, his feet flailing in the air behind him. Every now and then when the creature jerked under my control Hope would grab tightly onto my waist for some kind of support. He would apologize every single time and every single time I would tell him to just keep his grip on me. The grabbing on and letting go was getting annoying.

"Believe in Lady Luck now?" Fang shouted over the roaring wind.

"Yeah – Lady _Bad_ Luck!" Sazh yelled back.

"Time to Purge a Primarch!" Snow shouted.

"You got it!" Fang replied.

We spurred the bioweapon forward, and it circled around the large, white ship. Turrets on the hull began to fire at us, and bullets whizzed past our heads. The bioweapons, furious at being fired upon, opened its jaws and spewed a hiss of blue energy at the nearest turret, which exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke. It seemed to be the safest patch.

"Jump!" Lightning yelled and we all did so; on her command. We all screamed before being engulfed by the smoke. We hadn't thought this whole falling thing through…

* * *

I haven't posted a chapter to a story in so long that I completely forget to keep posting this one! Everything is written out already, I'm just lazy and too busy with work, videogames, and family. Sorry about that everyone.


	7. Barthandelus

I fixed my usb / laptop constantly formatting my documents problem until it happens again. I list all other excuses under the sun as to why my other stories aren't being updated, but here's to trying.

(c) Final Fantasy XIII owned by Square Enix

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Barthandelus**

We landed pretty roughly on a small platform inside the ship. I groaned and rolled onto my back. My entire body was aching from the fall.

"Everyone okay?" Sazh asks standing up slowly.

Everyone mutters a reply as they stood up and looked around. The platform we had landed on was one of many. A series of retractable bridges connected each platform and each one was set on a lower plane than the last. If you were to connect all the center platforms you would be able to form a ramp and at the bottom was an intricate door.

"Think we should try that door down there?" I told everyone pointing to the door on the far end of the room.

Lightning nodded, "With all these soldiers stationed here it might mean that Dysley's through there."

"Probably," I agreed.

"Let's move," Fang ordered, heading to the edge of the platform and pressing the button on the panel that was situated there. The bridge extended, connecting us to the next platform down. "We're still gonna have our talk," Fang told Vanille as she moved forward. "But let's survive this first."

"Right," Vanille said softly.

* * *

"Everyone ready?"

"Sure, this guy is going down!" Snow said encouragingly.

"Dysley won't be alone," I said double checking my arrows in my holster, "He'll probably have a whole squad of Elite's down there protecting him."

"Don't worry, Eria," Hope said, encouraging for once. "We can take 'em."

I looked at him and let a small smile form. "All right, then."

Lightning impatiently took point running down the corridor as if eager to force a fight with the Sanctum's leader.

The Primarch himself was sitting on a large white throne, his white extravagant garments flowing around him. Next to him, Jihl Nabaat smiled as we approached the dais.

"Been looking for you, Nabaat!" Sazh growled at the long haired bespectacled woman.

In response, Jihl leaped from the top of the dais and jumped to the ground in front of us, landing gracefully. Sazh drew his gun and pointed it at her. Jihl stopped and placed a hand on the blade at her waist. "Your Eminence, please escape," she said, drawing the sword. "I'll cover your retreat."

The Primarch repositioned himself in his high-backed chair. "Why don't you leave, Jihl," he said in a drawling voice. "Or rather, take your leave. Humans have no business here."

I narrowed my eyes at the Primarch. His words made no sense. _'Humans have no business here?'_

Jihl turned a bewildered expression on her face. "What?" she gasped. "Your Eminence!" Before she could finish, a white ball of magical energy collided with her back and she collapsed with a strangled cry. Jihl Nabaat was dead; the Primarch had killed her with magic!

We exchanged looks of shock. "Magic?"

The Primarch raised his staff and stood rising into the air above the dais. Magic began to surround the staff and screams echoed around the bridge as the remaining technicians were pierced by the energy. "Dysley!" Snow roared in horror at the sudden death, but the Primarch didn't stop. He rose higher, and the magic hit the ceiling of the bridge, exposing the sky above. "Monster! People are not yours to use!"

The Primarch grinned as he floated down to our level. "What else does one do with tools?" he sneered.

Snow reacted first. He charged the Primarch, his fist drawing back. With a shout, his fist snapped forward, only to be stopped by a green wall of energy. It seemed the Primarch was protected by a magic shield. Snow was knocked backed to the others and everyone flanked him in case he was attacked again.

"Cocoon is a factory, built by fal'Cie," Dysley said in that same, drawling voice. "A factory for the mass production of human thralls."

"Not anymore it's not," Snow grunted as he stood up.

"What can mere men do?" Dysley asked arrogantly. "Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. A mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."

Lightning stepped forward, gunblade in hand. "If they only knew a l'Cie was the one filling their glasses!"

"L'Cie?" Dysley laughed at the word. "You mean me? Oh child, perish the thought." He rose into the air again, and a white owl swooped over our heads to be consumed by the shining light emanating from his staff. "I am more than that!"

The light radiated outward, consuming Dysley with its brightness. Then it dimmed and Primarch Galenth Dysley was gone. In his place was an enormous living machine. A massive head surrounded by four metal plates, each with its own, smaller white head. Two clawed feet jutted from beneath the two outer plates, clinking against the metal ground.

"I am fal'Cie," the machine rumbled. Its voice was deep, metallic; godly. "My name is Barthandelus. Voice of the Sanctum and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie."

Despite putting on a brave face my heart was pounding out of my chest. If it was the real Dysley we were going to fight we would have a better chance, but there's absolutely no way, even with all of us, we could defeat a fal'Cie. Hope slowly backed up with me, grabbing my hand out of fear or comfort. His expression matched mine – we were both scared.

"Your kind feared the darkness, so we gave you light." Snow, Sazh, and Lightning flanked Hope, Vanille and I and even we could tell they were a little scared too, "You begged us for the Purge and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn my counsel? You must learn your place!" The fal'Cie let out a deafening roared, forcing us to back up a few feet.

"We need a plan!" Sazh shouted over the roar.

Thinking quickly I shouted, "Premeditation Paradigm!"

Lightning and I moved back behind the group letting those with the abilities of Sentinel, Saboteur, and Synergist take our place. My idea is that Snow should draw in Barthandelus attacks while the others boosts us and weakens Barthandelus.

"Ready to roll the minute I give the signal?" Lightning asks me keeping her blade ready in one hand and holding a potion in the other. Tossing it at Snow to heal him and keep his strength up, he was taking most of the hits, "Those heads are casting spells. We have to take those out first."

"What Paradigm should we use?"

"Cerberus."

Snow broke out of his defensive stance, "Alright! Let's do it!"

With a battle cry we all charged in. With each attack, Barthandelus became more frenzied, and his attacks were more powerful. It was clear that he was unleashing the bulk of his fal'Cie power against us, but any time one of us was hit, another was quick to come to their aid, either with a potion or magic.

Suddenly, the last head vanished as Lightning's gunblade slashed through it and Barthandelus collapsed. Though far from defeated, we took the chance to attack. Our weapons tore through its thick armor.

Now damaged significantly, Barthandelus picked itself up and a laugh escaped its throat. Its face raised away from the rest its head, and the shoulder drew back, revealing a mass of cannons and lasers.

"Get away!" Lightning shouted desperately, realizing what was about to happen. "Get away, now!"

Fang and Snow stood in front of us taking their Sentinel position to try and take the brunt of the attack while Vanille and Hope switched to their Medic role, if this attack is going to be devastating we're going to try to survive it.

 **Thanatosian Smite.**

The lasers hit the barrier with all their might. Waves of heat rolled over us, but they didn't break down the barrier. Only at the last possible second, did the magic finally end.

"Ruthless Paradigm!" Lightning shouted.

Our group split into our assigned roles. Snow on the far side, drawing its fire with magic, Vanille and Fang launched a series of debilitating spells on the fal'Cie, Hope kept our boosts up, and Light, Sazh and I put on the pressure in with different tactics, and Barthandelus staggered beneath our attacks.

"Now! Hit it!" Snow roared. We all switched to Commando and Ravager and hit Barthandelus with everything we had. Barthandelus roared one last time before disappearing in a sliver shimmer. There was a pause as we caught our breath. Even though he was physically gone from our eyes it didn't seem like we've won.

"A fal'Cie running the Sanctum," Snow said scornfully.

"Then… I guess it wasn't Eden controlling things after all." Hope announced, folding his weapon and tucking it into his belt.

"As I said," a disembodied voice echoed around the bridge, startling us. The Primarch appeared before us. He was once again in his human form, as Galenth Dysley. "I am Lord-Sovereign."

"Guess fal'Cie don't go down as easy as the rest," Sazh said, his pistols in his hands. Each of us had drawn our weapons.

"Ease is not the issue," The Primarch stated. "You have not fought to win. You should know quite well already the sure way of dispatching our kind. Ragnarok."

There were gasps all around, as we each remembered the vision we had shared when we became l'Cie.

"What's Ragnarok?" Fang asked. As if in answer, the white brand on her arm glowed and she clutched at it groaning in pain.

"Fang!" Vanille cried out in concern, glancing at her hunched form. Fang took a deep breath before nodding in assurance.

"Pitiful l'Cie, you've forgotten your Focus," Dysley smirked amused. "Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon." He raised his hand and pointed at each of us in turn. "You have had the dream." He vanished and instantly reappeared among us, scaring us out of our positions. If he still has that much power to move quickly among us, then we really can't defeat him. "One among you will become that monstrosity…" He vanished again and reappeared near Hope and I, "…defeat Orphan, and destroy Cocoon." His eyes briefly met mine before vanishing and reappearing again away from us.

"Orphan? Lightning asked, confused, asking aloud everyone's question.

"The font of Eden's power," Dysley answered slowly. "Orphan fuels Eden with strength, and Eden in turn sustains you and the rest of your kind. Destroy Orphan and you'll release a force such as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder."

Fang stood, her hand still wrapped around her brand, "So if I did that… Destroyed Orphan…"

Dysley laughed and appeared in front of her, his face full of malice,"Your Focus would be fulfilled."

"So what?" Lightning growled, her gunblade arcing vertically towards Dysley, who vanished in a haze of light. "Who says it has to be?"

Snow stepped forward and held up his hand and showed him Serah's tear, "Serah asked us to save Cocoon before she turned to crystal," he said determinedly. " _Save it_! And that's what we're gonna do!" He looked around at us beseechingly. "Serah was trying to tell us how to complete our Focus, and we have-"

Dysley gave a mock laugh, cutting him off. "Allow me to help you see the truth of things. The moment you arrived, your friend wept crystal tears. This was because her Focus required that you be brought together. That girl did nothing but assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction."  
Snow's mouth had dropped.

"Did it never occur to you?" Dysley asked. "Or did you simply refuse to countenance the thought?"

The ground began to shake beneath us and Dysley swung his staff. "If you will not face the truth, then face the peril of your plight." Above us, the white owl returned, swooping low. We stepped backwards as it grew larger, becoming a sleek white ship. "Run l'Cie!" Dysley said, disappearing into the air. "See how stark reality is!"

Then the _Palamecia_ began to rumble.

"Come on!" Lightning ordered, leading us the boarding ramp of the white ship.

"Are we really going to get on that thing?!" I questioned not moving until Hope snatched my wrist and dragged me on board. Dysley's owl turned into the ship, for all we know it'll fly us into the ground.

Sazh was at the ship's controls, piloting it away from the explosion. "This is bad!" Sazh shouted, trying to steer. "The yoke's jammed!"  
"I knew it was a trap!" Snow yelled, leaning over Sazh's chair.

"Something's coming!" Hope shouted from the side looking out the nearest window.

Through the window we a ship flying out of the flames and towards us, firing rockets.

Sazh expertly steered the ship, avoiding the rockets that were exploding around us. It became a quick game of cat and mouse of chasing smoke and rockets.

"The hell kind of ship is this? Fighting on its own?!" Sazh yelled hitting the controls. The two ships began to fly around each other, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Hope and I held onto each other for stability, "Well, this is one of Dysley's weapons." I retorted.

"Can't we do something?!" Hope asked desperately.

"Got me! I give up!" Sazh shouted

We sped through air over the ship as a green barrier was erected behind us. The _Palamecia 's_ shields! They stopped Rosch's ship from getting through while we soared and weaved through tall skyscrapers.

"Sazh, look out!" Vanille screeched suddenly, and we all looked ahead, screaming as we saw that we were on a collision course with one of the city's towers. We all braced for impact.

* * *

 **Little note: Hopefully that was everything. Feels like years since I've done this. I'm not completely worried about the editing at this point I just want to keep putting out chapters before my laptop screws with my docs again.**


	8. The Ark

Also hoped I fixed the Fanfic formatting...again trying to hurry and finish this before my laptop breaks it.

(c) Final Fantasy XIII owned by Square Enix

* * *

Chapter 8: The Ark

"Why can't we ever make …" I groaned in pain when I sat up wrong, jarring a sore spot, "…ow…a normal landing?"

The eight of us groaned, rubbing our aches and pains while looking around to see what hell we ended up again. It looked like an underground subway station.

"Where are we?" Lightning asked.

Vanille looked around, uncertain. "Looks like a piece… of Pulse,"

Sazh looked at her. "Of Pulse? What, like Bodhum Vestige?" when she nodded he made a sound of disbelief. "Something like that this close to Eden…"

Fang put her hands on her hips. "Yeah well, what I don't understand is, after the Purge and all that l'Cie paranoia, why keep a chunk of Pulse under the floorboards?"

"Is this what the Primarch wanted us to see?" Hope wondered.

"A place for l'Cie to accept their fate," Lighting said. "And carry out the Focus they're assigned."

"I wonder if our Focus is really what Dysley said it is," Hope wondered.

Vanille's expression, along with everyone else's, fell. "You mean, become Ragnarok."

"Destroy the fal'Cie Eden, and shatter Cocoon. That's what the vision's telling us, more or less," Sazh stated crossing his arms, "So, we're back to square one. Out of luck."

Vanille leaned over at Snow who had been silent the entire time and called "Mr. Hero!" She sang cheerily, "Cocoon calling Snow!" But nothing happened, and Snow just stared off into space. She turned and crossed her arms with a huff.

"It's almost like Dysley wants it to come true," Hope commented.

"It sure seems that way. He sure didn't mind explaining it. 'Here's you Focus on a silver platter,'" Sazh said doing a bad impression of Dysley.

Vanille paced around. "But… that doesn't make sense. I don't get it. Why would a Cocoon fal'Cie want to destroy Cocoon?"

"Maybe it's a fal'Cie thing- some grand design we just don't understand," Hope suggested.

Fang turned to Snow who still hasn't put his two-gil in like he usually does, "Hey Snow! Nothing from you?" But again he didn't reply, lost in his own thoughts.

"Well, the ship is busted and we have no other way out of here." I said bringing the Focus subject to a close for now, "It's like Vile Peeks all over again so we better start walking."

Sazh pointed at the tunnel that leads further into the concealed Vestige. "So, this way?"

* * *

We walked farther into the structure before Hope commented "I can't believe we're still in Cocoon."

"It's kind of creepy," Sazh agreed. Once we reached an open area the floor began glowing. Then it flashed, and a red sign of Pulse appeared. I clutched my branded hand. It burned as red as the seal on the floor. I saw that the others were being affected the same way. Then the light and pain faded but a strange sound began to play throughout the vestige.

"What was that?" Sazh wondered as everyone began to recover.

A pillar in front of us began steaming, and it rose to reveal a pair of Pulsework Knights. Instantly we drew our weapons and began attacking.

* * *

After that we reached a platform, which lead down a flight of steps that led to more platforms where Pulsework Knights were scattered through the area.

Vanille looked at the area and gained a thoughtful expression. "This place… it must be an Ark."

"An Ark?" Lightning asked.

"Long ago, the fal'Cie, which made their home on Pulse, was afraid of invasion from the outside. As part of their battle preparations they created an army of living weapons. They stored those weapons in Arks and they hid the Arks all over the world."

"Everyone one Gran Pulse knew the legend," Fang added.

"So, this is basically a Pulse armory."

Fang nodded. "Most of us never believed in them. A few people tried searching, but they never found a thing." She chuckled. "Who'd have thought to look on Cocoon?"

"Right under our noses; that's some secret they kept," Sazh commented. "Those Sanctum guys, what are they up to?"

"The story's not done. There's more," Vanille told him. "They used the say the Arks had a more practical purpose."

Fang said "Yeah, to force l'Cie to master their shiny new powers."

Lightning's eye lit up in understanding, "Okay, now I get it. Dysley's goal is to forge us into stronger weapons. Right."

"Not Cie'th, but monsters all the same," Sazh stated.

I glared at him and said "Becoming stronger doesn't make us monsters. Rather, it means we'll be able to survive better."

"Think of it as training for the fight ahead," Hope suggested.

Vanille called "Hope's right! Let's do it."

Then the ground began shaking, and Sazh said "What's going on?" A pillar to our right opened and two more Pulsework Knights marched out. "Aw, these guys again…"

"Fun times," Lightning agreed.

Hope pointed to a safer path. "Over there! We've got to keep moving!"

* * *

After we began to make our way through the Ark, we fought more than a few enemies, including a Greater Behemoth, Alchemic Oozes, and more than a few slug-like monsters called a Notilucale.

The sense of time was lost to us as we walked and ran for what seemed like hours on end. There was never really a safe place to rest even though it seemed ideal cause we got lost several times, up became down, left became right and everything looked the same. Tension only grew the longer we stayed here.

"Look! An elevator!" Vanille ran over towards the make-shift elevator, ready to push the button once everyone was on. "Looks like the only direction is down." She pressed the button and pretty soon the elevator took us down.

"How much further down can we go?" Snow wondered out loud.

"As far as we can until we reach a dead end." I answered. Pretty soon we felt the elevator slow to a stop on a floor that led to a wide open platform.

We walked into the area only to see Raines standing there, waiting for us. "Raines?" Snow asked, confused.

"What?!" We hissed in disbelief staring at him distrustfully. How on earth did he get here and how did he know we would be here? This is no coincidence.

"Easy guys." Snow began, "Raines is a Sanctum officer. He's been helping us out-"

"Ah." Fang interrupted Snow before turning to Raines, "Why are you here?"

He said nothing and walked forward.

"Raines…" Lightning hissed, drawing her gunblade and charging forward. "You traitor!" she yelled. She swung at him only for him to dodge. She whipped back around and struck again twice, but he blocked both and after the second grabbed her gunblade, using it to throw her back.

"Lightning!"

"I put you on the path. That was my Focus," he revealed. Through his white glove we could see his brand. Unbelievable.

Fang demanded "You're a l'Cie?!"

"Since long before we met," he answered. "I did my best to assist you, as bid by the Sanctum fal'Cie. Now do you understand? The fal'Cie have watched over you, guiding your every step. The 'luck' that saved you time and again was a deliberate machination. Why you may ask? The Primarch- or should I say, Barthandelus- is crafting you into the instruments of Cocoon's demise," Raines explained.

Fang scowled. "We've been played for fools."

"A Cocoon fal'Cie? Why?" Sazh asked.

Raines looked at the gunblade. "Why? To restore the Maker."

"The Maker?" Hope repeated, confused.

"The entity responsible for creating both humans and fal'Cie," he explained, closing his eyes. "Long ago, the Maker departed this world, leaving the two races behind. In a sense, human and fal'Cie are brothers, orphaned by the same parent. As for the humans, they forgot the order imposed by the Maker. They began to war amongst themselves for the first time in history. The fal'Cie focused on recalling their lost deity and returning the world to its former glory. This purpose lies at the heart of all their actions." Then Raines opened his eyes. "Calling back the Maker requires a fitting sacrifice."

Lightning stood, "Yeah, we heard. The destruction of Cocoon."

"The lives of this world's entire populace in bloody tribute," he agreed, throwing her back her gunblade. She caught it like a pro.

"No, that's crazy talk," Sazh denied shaking his head.

"I don't get. Why do they need us? Couldn't the fal'Cie end Cocoon with just a thought?" Hope asked. Raines shook his head. "Their existence is bound to the creation and maintenance of this floating shell. It is their very nature that holds them in check."

"You mean… Cocoon fal'Cie can't destroy Cocoon. They needed tools…" Hope trailed off as all the dots connected. We were the tools.

"If we can stop this by doing nothing…" Vanille said her expression hardening. "We'll do nothing!" "Noble. I expected as much," Raines states.

"You lied to us!" Snow said softly, his voice rising to a shout. "What about your dream of rebuilding Cocoon for the people?! Was it all a lie?!"

"A shadow of a dream from when I was human. It was change I craved and once I'd built the influence to make things happen, there was change. I gained all the power I could hope to wield, but was a puppet with no will to wield it. It wasn't the fal'Cie who changed." The back of Raines's right hand began glowing, giving off a bright green light. "It was me. A l'Cie…tied to an inescapable Focus; a slave of destiny. I'd lost hope. I'd all but given up on dreams of freedom."

Sazh noticed the past tense and asked "What do you mean?"

"He means he changed his mind," I answered pulling out my weapon when I saw his brand growing brighter.

Raines nodded and swept back his cape, "Correct. I'm here of my own accord, not by fal'Cie order. Seeing you fight brought it all back; brought back the future I once strove for." The brand of the back of his hand glowed brighter. "I too… will challenge my fate." He raised his arm into the air and the light blew outwards in a huge wave. He snapped his fingers and a single barrier, the same symbol as his brand appeared. More spread out from it and formed a complete circle, caging us in.

"Easy guys," Lightning cautioned.

"If I can defeat you here, the fal'Cie plan will fail…!"

"Raines!"

"I will use all my remaining power," he crossed his arms over his chest. He spread them out and arched his back and in a wave of light he transformed. His shirt disappeared, showing a muscled chest that was only halfway flesh half crystal while his hair and eyes turned crystal and his right arm did as well, the fingers turning to long sharp claws. "I will set you free!"

* * *

The barrier around the edge of the area faded and Raines fell onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily. We all looked at him having mixed feelings. He wasn't necessarily the evil one here. Just like us he had his own goals and dreams until the fal'Cie screwed him over.

"Raines..."

He chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it? All I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it end isn't important." Weakly he held out his clawed crystal hand to us, "Do…what you know is right…Trust yourselves…" were his last words before his body began glowing, blinding us by its bright light.

When the light faded he had turned to crystal, still on his knees with his hand held out towards us.

"What? Did he complete his Focus?" Sazh asked confused as to why Raines turned to crystal.

"I don't think so," Snow answered, "Raines was just trying to save Cocoon in his own way…" He slowly approached the crystal Raines and then stormed off after snapping, "His own way!"

"Where are you-?"

"Snow!"

He didn't listen to us and kept going.

"Look!" Hope whispered gaining our attention. We turned around to see Raines's crystal before disappearing in a ray of light. We didn't understand how or why that happened. Serah and Sazh's boy hadn't disappeared like that. They remained in crystal stasis…so why had Raines's body disappeared?

* * *

Eventually we came to a large open area, with huge crumbling ruins and no immediate path. "Looks like a dead-end," Hope sighed looking just as tired as the rest of us. We've been walking and getting lost for what seemed like hours.

Vanille looked around thoughtfully. "If the stories are right... it's a maze."

"Figured that out after getting lost for hours." I commented walking to the edge of the platform to see if there was an alternate path.

"This place is a boot camp for l'Cie." Fang explained, "All kinds of challenges from Gran Pulse are waiting."

"Challenges, huh? To get us all ready to wipe out Cocoon?" Sazh asked.

"We can wait here if turning Cie'th sounds better," she snapped.

He was silent for a moment before walking forward, "I have had enough of this! Where's the way out?!"

"Way out? Who said there was one?" Snow stood next to me, "My mind's made up. Maybe I will end up a Cie'th, but until that happens I'm gonna make Serah proud." He held up the crystal tear. "I couldn't bring myself to admit this tear meant good-bye. And that's why I kept searching for her. But I didn't need to." He tossed the tear once before he placed his hand over his heart. "Serah was here…watching over me. What this tear's been telling me is to not let our Focus win. It's not the fal'Cie we should listen to. It's people like Serah and Raines. Do you know why?" He looked at all of us. "Because our Focus doesn't matter! What matters to me is that we protect Cocoon- whatever it takes!"

Well his speech left some of us a little speechless. Leave it to the hero to come out of his slump and try to motivate us to do the same.

Vanille nodded with a chipper smile, "Same here." She walked forward and placed her hand on his, "I'll help you do it."

Hope joined them and placed his hand on top, announcing "All right, I'm in."

Lightning and I smirked and looked at each other while Sazh flexed his arms, smiling. The chocobo chick flew down and stood on top of our hands, posing as it chirped. We all laughed and Snow said "I mean come on! When a chocobo agrees you know you're on the right path."

Fang had her back to us with her arms crossed, "Well, count me out," Came Fang's harsh reply. We all stopped in shock. "If you all want to go it alone... then so will I!" She pulled out her lance and aimed towards us. "Let Cocoon get what's coming to them. They hate us for being l'Cie. What's it to me if they die? Better that than watch a friend go Cie'th! If you don't have the nerve for it, I'll do it myself. Go on alone, get stronger, and smash Cocoon out of the sky!"

Vanille couldn't believe it, "Fang!"

Fang grunted before grabbing her arm in pain, falling to her knees breathing heavily. "You turn Cie'th and there's no going back! I'm not..." then her brand began glowing bright, "…lettin' it end that way!" she screamed in pain, and a pillar of light shot up into the heavens, causing the clouds to darken and rumble with thunder. They parted and a dark shape flew down, revealing itself to be Bahamut, the Eidolon of Chaos. Fang glared at the Summon, using her lance for support, "What's he doing here? Come to help me? Come to take pity on a broken l'Cie?!"

"That thing's here to help?" Snow asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, 'help'," she said sarcastically. "That's what they do; Eidolons are our salvation. If we can't figure out to do next, they put us out of our misery!" She screamed at the Eidolon.

"Wait." Snow commented, "So you haven't made up your mind yet."

Bahamut fired a Firaga spell at her. She closed her eyes. Lightning, Snow and I held off the attack, pushing it away until it flew off and exploded against the wall of the ruins.

She opened her eyes and looked at us gathering around to protect her, "What are you doing?"

"Protecting our own," Lightning answered, "We can do without their brand of mercy. And we don't need a fal'Cie's orders either. I'm fighting this Focus to the end." She turned to kneel at Fang. "We all are. So please, fight with us," she held out her hand to Fang.

Fang was hesitant for a moment before grabbing her hand and standing up, walking to stand before Bahamut and spin her weapon. "Ready when you are!"

* * *

The Eidolon of Chaos roared one more time, before it faded it purple light. Fang landed lightly on the ground and twirled her spear, "Well, that takes care of that,"

Then Vanille called out and pointed "Look! A new path!" We all looked to see that indeed, a crystalline path had appeared, sloping downward through the maze. "Maybe it did save us!"

Most of us looked a little unsure but Snow on the other hand, "I don't suppose we could take this as a sign of me being right?" No one responded much to his let down, "No? Okay…listen, keep your eye on the goal and we'll figure some out." He took charge and walked towards the bright blue bridge that appeared to be made out of light. We all walked down the bridge cautiously while taking a look at the wreckage around us. It appeared to be the remains of a broken down city, from Cocoon or Pulse, no one knew for sure, but one thing I knew for sure was that ship waiting at the end of the bridge.

"No way…" I ran down the rest of the way to get a closer look. "It can't be!"

Vanille had joined my side a second later and gasped surprised, "Wow! An airship from Gran Pulse!" As everyone joined us we got a closer look, "I guess it was one of this Ark's weapons or something?"

"Do you think it still works?" Hope asked as he, Sazh, and Snow got a closer look.

Sazh grumbled that it was probably missing an engine or that it doesn't work at all. Fang had looked up to see the other side of the ship but something more important caught her eye, "That's…that's a gate to Gran Pulse!"

I went to her side immediately to get a better look for myself and my heart soared at the sight of the green gate. I could see the beautiful open green land and the wide blue sky, "The gate to home…"

"So what? That's our escape; Pulse or bust?" Sazh asked looking at the green gate.

"Could be one of Dysley's traps," Lightning cautioned.

Vanille frowned turning to her and the others, "That's not good. Do you think it might take us to Eden?"

Sazh grumbled stepping forward. "Uh-uh, I'm doing the flying." He pointed towards the gate as if telling it whose boss, "No more of these ships taking care of our travel plans." He flexed his arms. "From now on, the only place this thing taking us is where these boys tell it to."

Fang laughed in disbelief. "Ha, really? That is a Gran Pulse ship."

"Really?" Sazh challenged, matching her tone. "You just leave it all to me!" he said, pounding his chest, causing him to have a coughing fit. At least his little blunder got some of us laughing.

I patted his back, "Easy there, old timer."

"Either way we're on borrowed time." Snow cut in walking over to Sazh to give him a good pound on the back that made the coughing a little worse, "Might as well go. We get lucky and maybe we'll find a way to get rid of these goofy tattoos," Snow said, gesturing at his brand.

Vanille frowned. "But… there's no way to do that."

Fang placed a hand on her Vanille's head and said "You never know. Maybe we just didn't think to look for one."

"If nothing else, we know Cocoon is safe for the time being. It's worth taking a look," Hope said sounding as positive as the adults.

"Maybe. But what about your dad?" Lightning asked. She worried that if we go to Pulse and something goes wrong we won't be able to come back and Hope won't be able to reunite with his dad.

"I made him a promise. I promised him to keep going, and do what I had to do. He said only I would know what that was. The world's full of lies. There's no way of knowing what's right. All we can do is believe in ourselves." He said with a little more conviction, "It's easy to sit back and let people trick you. Like how the Sanctum had us all thinking that a l'Cie was some sort of monster." He gave everyone a look. In the beginning we all feared l'Cie and now that we are l'Cie, we don't see them as monsters. "I'm done with their lies. Fal'Cie, this whole Focus thing. From here on out I use my eyes. Think. And act. I might not make all the right choices. But as long as I'm the one who decided what to do, there's nothing to regret," Hope said finishing his long speech. Everyone, including me, made sounds of surprise at this speech. He really has matured…

"Okay," Lightning said smiling softly. Hope really has come far since Palumpolum.

"All right, let's do it! I'm with you." Sazh said, patting Hope and the back. "Bad choices and all!"

Hope chuckled, "Of course, I'm not sure how it's gonna turn out. Pulse is hell, you know."

I smirked at him crossing my arms, "Excuse me?" I teased leaning at the waist closer to him.

"Oh is it now?" Fang teased as well, putting her hands on her hips and leaned down at him. "How many times have you been there?"

Hope laughed a little harder, "None. But I want to go and see for myself." He walks closer to me smiling, "I want to see the world you come from." He said softly grabbinging for my hand, "I want to see your home with my own eyes and experience the things you have…"

My face grew warm by his actions. Unsure of what to say I looked away shyly.

"Okay people! So, everybody in?" Snow asked tossing Serah's crystal tear in the air.

They all nodded, and Lightning joked "Off to hell we go."

We all made our way to the ship with Vanille spouting off all sorts of things they could possibly see there, Lightning and Snow playfully arguing just as Fang and Sazh are about who should really drive the ship and Hope and I talked about what we should expect next or where we would end up once we go through the gate.

* * *

We saw nothing but streams of colors flashed by as we traveled through the gate to Gran Pulse. Sazh grunted with effort trying to keep the controls steady, going through this gate was making the ship harder to steer than he thought.

There was a burst of light before we passed through the gate into Gran Pulse. We flew over a huge forest and a little ways off I could see the cliffside, mountains, and in the sky we could see the sun and Cocoon.

I was fascinated by the sight, transfixed by Gran Pulse's natural beauty, "Finally home…"

"You did it!" Vanille cheered patting Sazh on the shoulder.

"Yeah!" He held took one hand off the controls and raised his arm slightly, "Told you, didn't I?"

Just when everyone thought it was okay to stand and walk around the ship something large brushed very closely to the side of the ship, scaring everyone. When it flew away far enough we all look to see a huge caterpillar-like monster fly by us, and Fang smirked. "Playful little critter isn't he?"

"Yeah? Well play with someone else." Lightning retorted not at all amused by the close call.

"Happens all the time." Vanille giggled.

"I'll make the guess he's hungry," Snow watching the beast soar through the sky in a weird motion.

"Yeah, he thinks we're a l'Cie food buffet!" Sazh joked.

"'Cie' food. Cute," Light states flatly, not finding the joke all that funny. To our fear the monster set its sights on us again and we braced for impact.

"Guys, here it comes!" Hope hollered just seconds before it crashed into the ship hard enough to rip a hole in the side of the ship. Instantly air rushed out with hurricane force, and Hope, Vanille and I were pulled out. I had a decent hold on the ship until Vanille and Hope grabbed onto me on the way out making me lose whatever grip I had.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

"Why did you grab me?!" I shouted at Vanille over the whiplashing wind.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized/screamed trying to keep her hand on me and Hope. Speaking of him he's dangling in the wind a little worse than us, "You okay?!" Vanille shouted towards him.

"Oh yeah! I'm great!" He retorts sarcastically.

Angling my body I could see Fang and Light riding on Bahamut, rescuing Snow and Sazh. Why didn't I think of that? Shaking my hand loose from Vanille I called the Eidolith from my brand and tossed it into the open air.

"What are you doing?!" Vanille asks keeping hold on Hope.

"Saving us!" I shouted back firing an arrow at the Eidolith. Leviathan emerged just in time in his Gestalt form and grabbed us just as the airship crashed into the ground, thankfully without us on it.

Fang and the others flew right up next to us, smirking with relief. We flew over fields were canine monsters chased after a chocobo, and over a river that large monsters called Adamancheilds slowly trudged through. The others looked around in awe, and Fang said "Home sweet home."

I turned to Hope with a fond smile, "Welcome to Gran Pulse."

* * *

 **Little note: Hopefully that was everything. Feels like years since I've done this. I'm not completely worried about the editing at this point I just want to keep putting out chapters before my laptop screws with my docs again.**


	9. Gran Pulse and The Archlyte Steppe

This was two chapters but decided to dump it into one because one would've been shorter than the other. Also had major fluff ideas for Eria and Hope to really cement their relationship, but after what my laptop did the feeling was gone and couldn't get it back to the original. *sad pufferfish face*

(c) Final Fantasy XIII owned by Square Enix

* * *

Chapter 9: Gran Pulse and the Archlyte Steppe

So Gran Pulse had changed a lot since I last remembered…the small towns and villages that I remember from childhood are no longer around and there were hardly any people to be seen from our aerial view point, but I held on to the small glimmer of faith that there was still of piece of my childhood somewhere in the vast wildness…

For resourceful reason we decided to make camp where the ship had crashed. Ironically it landed right where my home used to be; in the mountainous pathway between the Archylte Steppe and Yaschas Massif. We hunkered down for the night there and the next morning we tried to come up with a sort of plan. I had already decided to go off on my own for a while. Light, Snow, and Sazh decided to scout the area, Fang and Vanille voted to stay and watch the ship, and Hope decided to gather more food. I was more worried of Hope going out on his own to get food because the adults can look after themselves if they don't venture to the Archylte Steppe or Yaschas Massif, or Paddra Ruins. I pointed out a safe route for Hope to find food before going off on my own.

* * *

I went exploring through the grottos of Vallis Media envisioning all the huts and houses that used to litter the planes and rocky walls. I remember the people, the music, the festivities, and star gazing. Looking at it all now…it's an empty husk filled with forgotten memories but filled with monsters.

 _'It's strange…'_ I touched the cool walls remembering the leafy lanterns our clan made that used to decorate the walls, _'It feels like I've only been asleep for a day before this l'Cie and Focus mess started but when in reality I've been asleep for 600 years…I fell asleep right before the War of Transgression started…'_ Following the path further, I reached the end of the tunnel that led to Yaschas Massif. _'Still no signs of any other human life…'_ Walking a little bit further I found a piece of machinery. I had no idea what it could be or what its purpose was but judging by all the rust and grim coated on it, it's been around for a very, very, very, long time. Turning back I decided to see of my favorite spot of Vallis Media was still around. Atzilut's Tears…It contained the most beautiful waterfall and pool where everyone used to gather round near and far to play and bathe in the waters. I could tell it was still around, thankfully, when I heard the thundering waters pour into the water and the fresh crisp air caressed my skin as I got closer. Yes it's still the same after 600 years. I climbed up the rocky cliffside to stand at the top of the waterfall and from there I could see Vallis Media a little better. The people and the huts may be gone but the view is still as beautiful as ever.

"Oh, here's some water."

Looking down I saw Hope walking towards the stream with the Chocobo chick carrying empty water bottles that he probably found on the ship. Seeing that he was still fine on his own and that there were no monsters around here, I turned to walk along the river and followed it a few ways before retreating into the small forest that once contained my home. It didn't take my long to find it since I literally remember it like it was yesterday that I was in this forest. Although there were no remains of human life I knew my home was right here a few ways from the river. I remember the mornings were my parents and I would meet up with our neighbors to hunt in the river for a few hours before letting ourselves being swept away by the current just so we could ride the waterfall down into the pool with the other clans. I remember the small festivals with music, dancing, eating, and crafting.

Standing in the center where my home used to be I crouched down and touched the cool dirt and closed my eyes, _'Mom…Dad…granny…sisters…brothers…cousins…friends…comrades…as you rest peacefully in the afterlife please watch over me and the others on this journey. Maybe in the end I will join you all there.'_ Tried as I might I couldn't stop the tears that flowed from my eyes. It had finally sunk in that besides Vanille and Fang I were the last human from Gran Pulse. If we were to die…then those who hail from Gran Pulse will be wiped out…the monsters and the fal'Cie would have won over Gran Pulse.

It would be foolish of me of me to try to tip the balance in the human's favor when all hope is lost anyway. The most I can do if I do complete my focus and return home to start anew.

* * *

It was nightfall by the time I got back to Base Camp and I wasn't greeted by a pretty sight. Everyone was sitting around the campfire looking depressed and Hope was lying on his back on a blanket.

"Hope?" My voice shook with concern as I jogged closer to him, "What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know." Vanille said not meeting my eyes, "He collapsed…"

I went to his side and touched his forehead and cheek. He was breathing fine and his temperature felt normal if not a little warm. "What made him collapse? How long has he been like this?"

"For a few hours." Fang answered with her arms crossed, "Vanille healed him as best she could but…"

Snow was on his feet suddenly, raising his voice and making everyone jump, "So this is how it ends!?"

"Just hold on," Sazh advised. "Now how long has it been since we left Cocoon, hm? Not a single soul for miles around, not a single clue about this whole l'Cie mess!" Snow took a step toward the man, but Sazh held up a hand, "What I'm saying is…we did well just getting this far."

I frowned at this, and then Vanille stepped forward. "But... we could go a little further…"

"Meaning?"

"There's still one place left to go," she explained.

"Vanille!" Fang said sharply, but her voice wasn't angry, but actually soft. "Are you sure?"

Before Vanille could say anything Hope said "…Oerba…"

We all gasped and looked at him. "Hope!"

Slowly his eyes opened and he raised his hand, looking up into the sky. "…the place where it all began. The place where the Pulse fal'Cie lay dreaming. Fang and Vanille's home. Just maybe... it'll be the place we find the answers we're looking for."

"You know if we don't find anything this time, we won't get another chance," Lightning pointed out with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, right. If we get there," Fang reminded her.

"Go ahead without me," Hope said looking at everyone.

"Are you crazy?" I snapped at him.

Vanille nodded in agreement. "We can't just leave you!"

Hope shook his head, "I'll be fine. You've all taught me so much- showed me how to fight," he struggled to stand up but ended up falling into Snow.

Snow pulled him so he could rest his head on his chest, and said "What did I tell you? Leave the fighting to me."

Reaching his side I stared at him with worry, "Hope, you won't be able to survive on Gran Pulse on your own." I grabbed his hand and held it with both of mine, "Pulse is very different than Cocoon. The monsters here are nothing like the ones on Cocoon- if you so much as stay still for too long you'll be killed by blood-thirsty monsters-you won't stand a chance!"

He sniffled. "I know…and I'm scared."

"We understand." Light consoled him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "That's why we're not letting you go through this ordeal alone," Light tilted his head up by his chin so he could see her reassuring smile.

He shook his head. "That's what scares me! I don't... I don't want to see you get hurt because of me. It would be better for everyone if I just stayed behind!"

"Hope-"

He let out a yell as his brand began to glow a green-yellow. It glowed brighter, and he yelled in pain, square symbols appearing around him while a wave of energy slammed against us, sending most of us flying back. The air above us glowed and flashed, a huge figure falling to land on the ground, causing it to quake. The light faded to reveal itself to be Hope's Eidolon, Alexander.

Fang scowled. "You mention ordeals and look what comes long!"

"This is not an ordeal, this is a gift," Lightning said, calling out to Hope. "Hope! This is the kind of power you've got inside. And it's telling you not to give up. Trust me."

"Oh I get it. It's here to help show you the way." Fang swung her Lance around, "Show you that you've got what it takes to get back on your feet and do this thing!"

I steadied my arrow ready to back them up if needed, "You've had that kind of power all along. Now's your time to let it out!"

Hope looked at Alexander in disbelief. "You mean that came from me?" It looked at him as if telling him what Hope already knows, and he gathered the courage to draw his boomerang and stand with us.

* * *

Sazh looked at Hope and said proudly "That was some beast you tamed."

"Yeah." Hope looked at his branded wrist, "You know, I always thought Eidolons appear to free us through death. But now... I think they're here to snap us out of our slumps."

Snow patted his back, "Oh, you mean like the one you were just in?"

He laughed lightly. "I'll try to ask for help earlier the next time around."

Vanille walked toward him and gave him a hug. "I told you. On Gran Pulse, we're all family." She looked at him in the face. "You can moan all you like, but you're stuck with us."

Sazh laughed and reminded him "You're never alone in hell."

"Listen funny man. Don't be calling this place hell now, you hear?" Fang snapped threateningly.

Ignoring them I touched Hope's shoulder, "So…you're okay now?"

Hope nodded, "Yeah. Sorry if I worried you."

"Only a little bit." I let out a small laugh through my nose, "You do know you're doing great-with getting stronger, I mean."

"You really think so?"

I nodded, "You've really come a long way since Vile Peaks. You used to always shy and stay in the back when we fight. You were always so hesitant and unsure." I giggled and poked him, "I thought you would fall over if someone so much as poked you." He laughed with me, hardly moving at all when I poked him, "You've gotten stronger Hope."

"Thanks Eria." He smiled, "That means a lot coming from you."

Light spoke up, "Speaking of which, are we all decided?" Lightning asked. We all nodded.

We all laughed loudly and the vote was unanimous: We would go to Oerba after a good night's sleep.

* * *

Once we were all well and rested we packed up our tents and headed out for the Archlyte Steppe. When we did we saw a Behemoth fighting a pack of Gorgonopsids, Amphisbaenas flying around and Adamancheilds slowly trudging across the plains. "Let's go!" Hope encouraged.. We walked farther into the plains when suddenly a Cie'th Stone rose up from the ground.

"What is that?" Snow asked.

"A Cie'th. It's in the last stage," Fang said somberly.

"A Cie'th?"

I stepped closer to the floating stone, "It's no threat to us unless you heed its plea. When l'Cie fails to complete a Focus, they become Cie'th and wander the wilds. Eventually those Cie'th lose the will to go on and turn to stone."

"But even then, they remember the task they once had. And they call to l'Cie over and over 'Complete my Focus'," Fang added.

"So they're doomed to eternal regret, huh? That's pretty horrible," Sazh frowned.

"Well, then let's help." Snow suggested, "I mean, come on, we can't just leave it. If we don't finish our Focus it could be us ending up like that."

"Wow, what a happy thought. That's not like you," Sazh said sarcastically.

"But going out of his way to help someone? That's Snow all over," Lightning sighed.

"This might actually be a good idea," I advised, "Sometimes these stones open new pathways and some hold the power to teleport you to other stones."

"Well, that sure beats walking." Snow joked, "Let's give it a try."

Nodding I held my hand up to the stone and it glowed. A voice filled my head and I recited what it said to me out loud for the others to hear, "The gelatinous rube beside that pond is the ectopudding I seek. I need only to slay it to avoid becoming a Cie'th. How many years must it have been since I left the village in pursuit of that vile pest? My brand will not wait forever. I must kill it, and quick. And then, when I awake from my crystal slumber, I can help to repair the ruin it left in its wake."

"So you can return from crystal stasis." Sazh spoke in awe.

Fang placed her hands on her hips, "Yeah. How many times have I told you that?"

Sazh grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Soo…where's this pudding thing?"

I pointed over into the long distance, "It's ways away and we have to be careful because a pack of Gorgonopsid run through there all the time."

"Great…"

* * *

We had located the ectopudding and beat the slime out of it. Once the mission was cleared another Cie'th stone had activated behind us.

"Another one?" Snow asked, "How many of these are we going to come across?"

"Who can say?" I placed my hand up to the stone, "Oh. This one was a hunter. I must hurry to the Yaschas Massif. For the Ugallu- lord of its peaks – is my prey. Yet those peaks loom distant on the horizon, and already my limbs refuse the urgings of my mind. Please, obey but for a few days more! Would that I could still the passage of time…He couldn't make it to Yaschas Massif."

Vanille placed a finger to her chin in thought, "Yaschas Massif. That's back towards camp isn't it?"

"So we have to backtrack?" Light asked sounding a little annoyed, "We don't have time for this."

Fang placed her hands on her hips, "Yaschas Massif leads to Paddra Ruins. Lots of history there. It doesn't hurt to check it out."

With me leading I led everyone through the caves and tunnels of Vallis Media that led to Yaschas Massif. When we reached the end of the tunnel and walked to the opening that is the Tsubaddran Highlands. The Ugallu was practically waiting for us and ambushed us the second we stepped into its territory. Having experience with fighting these sorts of beasts Vanille, Fang, and I took it down with little to no problem. Since we had back tracked quite a ways it was unanimously decided that we would take a look at Paddra Ruins to see if there were any clues about our brands. The grown-ups, plus Vanille, stood off to the side to discuss a way to get to Paddra Ruins without encountering too many monsters since Gil and supplies seemed low around here on Gran Pulse, while Hope walked towards the edge of a high cliff and sat down to admire the view the Tsubaddran Highlands had of the Archlyte Steppe.

"Like the view?" I asked, approaching him from behind.

"Huh?" I had unintentionally startled him a bit, even though he tried to play it off coolly, "Oh, I, uh- I was just thinking."

"About what?" I asked curiously, taking a seat down next to him pulling my sarong over my legs, "If you don't mind me asking."

He chuckled and shook his head, "I was just…taking it all in." He tilts his head out towards the beautiful high plains, sheer ridges, and deep fault valleys, with mammoth sized fallen trees a common sight across its landscape. From high above you can even see Cocoon floating. "The skies, the trees, the sunlight, the smells, I now see why you wanted to come home so badly. On Cocoon, I never dreamed a place like this could even exist. They painted it as pure hell-unlivable." He leaned back a bit and rest on his hands, "But now? Here I am, with you, on Pulse. If I hadn't gone to those fireworks, if I hadn't been sitting in that same train car during the Purge…if anything had been different, I'd never have had a chance to see this."

I hummed thoughtfully, "Maybe if things had been different you could've had your mom. You may not have been able to meet us but you would've still had your mom." I told him somberly. I looked at the row of different flowers in front of me. "Maybe if this whole Purge thing hadn't had happened…maybe if the war never happened…you would've found your way here…"

Hope looks towards me, "Would I have met you?"

I thought about it and shrugged my shoulders. I was technically 600 years older than him and by some crazy law I shouldn't even exist at the moment. I would be dead and gone long before I had ever met Hope. But…given the circumstances…I'm glad I'm here now with him. "Maybe…maybe not…" With a soft sigh I stood up and walked closer to the edge, "…if I'm honest…I'm glad to have met you in these circumstances rather than before the war…"

"What do you mean?"

"There was so much death back then…one day you're with your friends…and then the next they're gone." I replied, sadness settling into my heart, "It was so hard to stay alive…to stay together…often times we had to lie to each other and give false hope that we would all see the next day…"

Hope hummed, "Sometimes we have to lie about stuff like that. To keep yourself going because you're afraid…or to protect someone else, so they don't get hurt. Sometimes, even the things that everyone in the whole world thinks are true turn out to be lies." He sighs a bit, "At the end of the day, though, it's not the lie that matters, but what you do after you tell it. Work hard enough and you can make it true."

I blinked in awe. How can this be the same cowardly Hope from Lake Bresha? "You…"

"You know…if I'm honest too, I'm glad we met the way we did." He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants, "Who knows? Maybe back then we would've met each other here or on Cocoon." He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a relaxed sigh.

I let out a small laugh shaking my head lightly all the while, "Maybe. Still I could do without all the Focus and fal'Cie trying to control our lives nonsense. It's great though, I've never bonded this well with complete strangers before. Back then even though everyone was family it was hard to keep any kind of relationship because it was so hard to survive. I'm getting used to waking up every day and still seeing everyone here in front of me. Even more I'm still getting used to you." He blinked owlishly. "When we met, you were so easily scared and always tried to hide and run away. I was so annoyed with you because you never had any courage." He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "But now…you're so full of confidence…you helped inspire the rest of us to come to Pulse- to keep going." I smiled fondly at him, "You've gotten so strong Hope."

He chuckled and laced his fingers together in front of him, "I had to…for myself and for the others too…It means a lot that you've noticed it." He said looking up at me with a confident smile, "Part of me also wanted to get stronger for you."

This time I blinked owlishly, "F-for me?" My heart skipped a beat, maybe two, "Why?"

"You're the same age as me and yet you faced everything with confidence. To be honest I'm ashamed that I coward away so much while you faced everything head-on. I wanted to get stronger so I didn't have to stand behind you…I want…I want to stand beside you when we fight and face things together."

I felt heat rush to my face as he looked me in the eyes and smiled. "Y-y-you…"

"You've changed too, you know." He commented, still smiling, "You smile a little more and you seem more at ease. So, can you do that for me?" He asks stepping closer to me, "Because your smile…it really grabs hold of my heart when you smile…and I feel happy when you smile."

I covered my mouth in shock, "I-I had no idea…" I whispered and turned around so he couldn't see my red face, "F-for you to say something like that so easily! I don't know what to say!" I touched my face and felt how hot it was. 'What should I do?! What should I say?! I don't know how to deal with this!' Too soon I felt his hand on my shoulder and he gently turned me around and took my hands into his so that I couldn't hide my face.

"You don't really have to say anything. We have a tough road ahead and we don't know the outcome. I…just wanted to make my feelings known to you…in case something happens." How can he still be smiling so innocently when my heart is trying to beat out of my chest?! "I want to stand by you as long as I can…"

"Hope… I've never…dealt with anything like this before…I…" How can I say what I'm feeling? Deep down I want to be by his side too. "…I've never felt anything like this before. My heart has never hammered so strongly in my chest like this, besides in battle, it beats like this when you're real close to me." My eyes searched his, "…is that a good thing?"

He chuckled and held my hands tighter, "It could be…if you want it to be…the only way to know for sure…is for you to always stand by me."

I want this to be a good thing. I don't want to be afraid to commit to someone and always fear that the pain of when they disappear. I don't want to be lonely… "…yes…I want to stand by you too."

* * *

"You know, I've got to say…this is weird." Fang said placing her hands on her hips as she stared at the ruins of Paddra, "When we were young, we were always taught that someday we'd be attacked by the demons of Cocoon." She turned to the rest of us, "And now look at us; waltzing back into Oerba, with the very people we were chosen to take up arms against."

I crossed my arms, "Must have been centuries ago realistically, but to me, I still remember it fresh in my mind watching the hunters prepare for war."

Vanille nodded slowly stepping up to Fang's side, "During the fight, I became Ragnarok and cracked Cocoon's shell." She confessed sadly.

Snow uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck, "That, uh…that must have been hard on you, going through that."

"The War of Transgression must've been built up based on what you three did." Hope said looking at Fang, Vanille, and I.

Fang shook her head and tossed her hands up, "I didn't do anything. I just got turned to crystal and I can't even remember why that happened!" She said in frustration.

I let out a small huff, "I didn't get a chance to partake in the war either. I was taking a nap with Chocobos and the next thing I knew I was on Cocoon." Walking closer to the ruins of Paddra I couldn't help but sigh, "Makes me realize that I haven't been taking my job as a hunter or a Pulsian seriously. I loved hunting on the Archytle Steppe and I loved fighting the biggest of monsters with my dad. As much as I hated losing a home to Cie'th and monsters that was one of the best and worst things about living here. You'd think fighting for your life everyday would be exciting enough to keep you happy for days, but I found myself getting lazy after living the same old routine. And now look…" I pointed to the group wandering Cie'th, "Maybe if I hadn't fallen asleep that day…we wouldn't have had to worry about things like that."

Everyone was quite after that. Cocoon wasn't the only planet that was scarred because of the war or because of fal'Cie logic. Pulse was scarred too just by looking at the ruins of Paddra one could tell this used to be a glorious place. They had to complete their focus and make this right.

"Maybe there's a way their souls to rest." Hope walked over to me and held my hand in comfort, "Just like what we've been doing with the Cie'th stones."

I blinked in realization, "You're right. With all these Cie'th there should be a stone around here."

"Then let's do it." Lightning said already making her way down the rocky slope.

* * *

"So what are these ruins exactly?" Snow asked after we defeated the Undying Cie'th known as Betuitus. I had my suspicions if we had really defeated it or not. It didn't kill over like the other monsters had. Instead it barely flew a few feet away before it turned into a crystallized cocoon.

"Paddra." I answered, "It used to be one of the largest and most prosperous cities on Pulse where Farseers lived."

"Farseers?" Snow repeated, sounding skeptical, "You mean like a fortune teller?"

"No, more real than that." Vanille chirped, "Farseers are said to be the 'Eyes of Etro'."

Fang placed her hands on her hips, "In every generation an identical girl is born with the ability to see into the future and although she can see the future she is not allowed to change it as it would catastrophe upon humanity."

"Instead she would store her visions into an object known as the Oracle Drive where they would become known as prophecies." I finished looking at the ruins overhead, "Who knows, we could poke around here and try to find one before we go to Oerba. It may hold some clues…"

Everyone muttered in agreement before we spread out to search the ruins. We managed to find one but the vision it held was too grainy to decipher thus leaving us with more questions than answers.

* * *

"You've got to be ready to drop by now." Snow said to Hope as we doubled back through Yaschas Massif, "Don't overdo it just because you want to show off to the pretty lady."

Vanille tugged me over to a brush of flowers. "I won't." I heard Hope reply, "I know my limits unlike some people." He joked.

"The fal'Cie Dahaka is heading towards Oerba." Fang pointed out, pointing to the sky where the large fal'Cie flew off.

"They say it had a home somewhere near Oerba." Vanille said bouncing on her toes.

"That's good news for us, right?" Hope asked her, "If we stay on its tail, we'll end up in your village."

"Fighting fal'Cie never really turned out well for us." Sazh pointed out.

Snow stretched his huge arms out with a tired sigh, "With all the monsters we've been fighting lately I think we can handle that thing."

"We shouldn't confront it unless we're completely sure." Hope advised.

"I know the perfect way to make sure." I smirked deviously.

Lightning shifted her weight from one side of her foot to the other, "And how's that?"

"Titian's Trials."

Fang and Vanille gasped. "Eria!" "There's no way!"

"What? What? What?" Sazh's panicked.

"Going through Titan's Trial is suicide!" Vanille said with distress bringing her hands to her lips, "Only so few ever made it through alive!"

"Isn't Titan that giant fal'Cie we saw back at the Archylte Steppe?" Snow asked a tinge of nervousness in his tone.

I nodded, "Yeah, he roams the Faultwarrens but he oversees everything on Gran Pulse."

"He's the guardian of the entire ecosystem. He consumes weaker species and gives birth to a new one to prevent ecological stagnation." Fang informed them.

"And you want us to go through with this?!" Sazh snapped at me, "Have you lost your mind?"

I crossed my arms, "After everything we've faced up to this point the trials should be a walk in the park. We've cheated death this long…why not test the boundaries even more?"

"Eria…" Lightning warned.

I pressed on, "We don't have to go through the trials. I'm just saying that, in my opinion, if we successfully go through them and come out with Titan's blessings we can literally take on anything that comes our way."

Fang sighed, "She has a point. Titan's Trials are like an initiation for most Hunters."

"Is there another way to prove we're strong enough?" Hope asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well…there's always the Ada-"

Fang flicked me in the forehead, "Alright missy, that's enough suicide missions out of you. We want to save Cocoon not march to an early grave."

Lightning sighed, "Let's rest and plan for tomorrow for now. Eria must be tired if she's trying to kill us all with all the ideas she's conjuring up."

"Well excuse me for offering ideas."

* * *

"Aaahhh!" Vanille sighed loudly swimming leisurely in the deeper parts of the hot spring, "This feels great! It feels like forever since we've had a good bath!"

"Tell me about it. I was starting to smell like Snow." Lightning teased rolling her head left and right to work out the tension in her neck. Fang sighed in agreement stretching her arms above her head.

I sat a little further away from them, mostly out of self-consciousness. I think Vanille realized it as she swam over towards me.

"Eria, why are you all the way over here?"

"No reason." I replied, bringing my arms over my chest and crossing my legs.

"Hmmm?" Vanille tilted her head, staring at me closely.

"What?" I asked defensively, trying to shrink under her stare.

Her eyes lit up mischievously, "Oh I see!" She giggled.

"Go away!" I snapped splashing water at her. She still persisted going as far as to grab my arms to uncover my chest, "Stop it, will you!"

She laughed as she released my arm to swim over to Fang and Lightning, "You all should see Eria!"

Growling in embarrassment I swam after her, "Hurt time, Vanille!"

Squealing she swam over to Fang for protection, "I didn't mean anything bad by it!"

"What's the big deal?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah." Fang smirked, "They're just fine for someone your age and with your figure."

I flushed with embarrassment turning my back to them, "I wasn't…Vanille was the one who brought it up! It's not like I care about that sort of thing!"

Vanille peeked from behind Fang, "Oh? Should I ask Hope what he thinks about that sort of thing?" She teased.

"Vanille!" I hissed, blushing furiously. Fang and Vanille laughed at my expense while Lightning only chuckled. "Some friends you all are."

* * *

"It really is a whole different world, isn't it?" Hope observes treading carefully around the Adamantoise following exactly in my footsteps along with the others, "It's huge…"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Sazh on the other hand was shaking in fright, "That thing could Gran the Pulse right out of us!"

"Grow a spine, will ya!" I grumbled over my shoulder, guiding my friends through the Northern Expense, "It won't bother you if you don't bother it. They're rather docile creatures if you leave them alone."

"Can you imagine the size of the-?" Snow began but was promptly smacked over the head by Light who gave him a warning look to not finish his sentence; she probably didn't want to think about it herself.

"So where are you taking us to now?" She asked me.

"Somewhere that will make traveling a whole lot easier." I told her guiding everyone to a secret path that I knew like the back of my hand.

"I hear a waterfall." Snow noted, cupping a hand behind his ear.

As we got closer to the end of the path where sunlight was becoming a light source again, the sounds of water was becoming more prominent and that wasn't the only thing. Sazh quickly pinched his nose at the smell. "Ugh! Phew!" The smell was pretty gross to the others too but they quickly got over to it when they realized that only one avian had that particular scent. "Wait a minute! I know that smell!" Sazh ran ahead with the others in tow. "I knew it!" He cheered.

"Kweh! Kweh!" The tall yellow avians squawked with happiness seeing humans.

"They're so different than the ones on Cocoon." Snow observed.

Fang placed her hands on her hips, "Probably because the ones on Cocoon are more domesticated than the ones here."

They watched on as Sazh kneeled down near a few Chocobo chicks. The one in his afro flew out to greet its kind. "Look at what we've got here! New friends!" He gave his little chick a nudge, "Why don't you go say 'hi'?" Seeing the little chick quickly bond with the others Sazh grew somber. "Maybe it would be best to just say good-bye here." After hearing that remark, the little chick flew back at him, giving him a sharp peck on the nose, one so hard that it sent him flying back, much to the amusement of the others. "I was just kidding!" Sazh told the angry chick. The baby Chocobo chirped as it looked at Cocoon in the sky. Sazh let out a small sigh, "Yeah, I know. You're sticking with me till Dajh wakes up. But no one knows…could be a long wait…"

Fang took that moment to step near him, "…I still haven't apologized to you about that…"

Sazh quickly dismissed her apology, "It wasn't your fault. You've got more than enough weight on your shoulders already." He had already endured Vanille's apology, he couldn't handle another person saying sorry for something that was out of their control, "It was my fault at Euride-letting Dajh out of my sight like that. The one's on me."

Fang frowned, "And you're just gonna deal with that on your own, is that it?"

Sazh chuckled and gestured to his afro, "Ha ha! I don't have to: I've got this little one!" He pointed to her, "And you, you've got Vanille. You weren't alone. That kept you going, didn't it?" At Fang's thoughtful look Sazh actually got bashful, "Ah, listen to me! Trying to act all parenty."

Fang approached him and patted his shoulder, "Well, don't give up. You're getting the hang of it. Really." She departed to the others to join in on observing the Chocobos.

Hope stood at my side as I wadded through the shallow water to get to a small group of Chocobos tucked in the corner, "Is it okay if we get close?" He asked me, "Do you think they'll let us pet them?" He couldn't help but get a little excited at the aspect of possibly riding one. These Chocobos are so much bigger than the ones on Cocoon.

"Of course." I chirped reaching down to grab a handful of gysahl greens and walked to the nearest Chocobo, luring it to me, "That's it…" The yellow avian tilted its head left and right as it came closer to me, "That's it boy…" Once the bird was close enough me, I brought my hand holding the greens over my shoulder so that the bird would have to stretch its neck a bit to get the greens. "There you go…" I cooed, letting the bird have its reward and I stroked the birds' neck while whispering Pulsian words that only the bird could understand.

Hope was so enthralled by what was happening that he was caught off guard when another Chocobo came over and started nibbling at his pant strings. Both he and I shared a laugh, thinking the bird thought his pant strings were greens. Hope grabbed a handful of the actual plant and fed the large bird while petting it gently. The Chocobo finished its greens and gave Hope a cute nuzzle, allowing Hope to nearly wrap his arms around its neck.

"They're used to us now." I announced to the others, "We've got the scent of greens and Chocobos on us so we can use these birds as well as the ones in the wild to get around on Pulse." I mounted the bird that I had gotten acquainted with, "Let's go for a quick ride before getting back to our main mission!"

* * *

"Look!" Vanille pointed out cheerfully, "That's Titan!" Ironically it only took a little persuasion from Vanille to get everyone to agree to 'attempt' Titan's trials. I did grumble a bit that no one took to my idea from the start but they were here now with nothing to lose- per se.

"What's a thing that size eat?" Snow wondered the fal'Cie towered over everything in sight. It leaves a lot to wonder how much it must eat to get full.

"You name it." Fang replied, "He's a biogenitor-chews up one species and spits out another."

To our surprise the Titan heard them and spoke, "Piteous l'Cie…"

"It talks?!" Hope gasped. This was the first fal'Cie besides Barthandelus to speak to us.

"The struggles of the frail and feeble end in loss." Titan spoke in a gravelly voice, "Better your lives' waters quicken the seeds of new."

Vanille shook her head in woe while Hope grew angry, "What's it saying? The weak don't even deserve to live?"

A Cie'th stone activated nearby and everyone looked at it with determination. "Well last I checked, we're not exactly weak, are we?" Fang spoke up for the group. Fang approached the stone and we all entered Titan's trials.

* * *

We blitz through the first half the trial, having encountered similar enemies before it was easy to clear a majority of the battles. The bosses in the end that Titan himself provided us only proved to be a challenge: Neochu, Zirnitra and the recently defeated by the skin of our teeth Raktavija. (Such a bitch…) He then sent Verdelet which was an incredible disappointment to fight even by Sazh's standards. Titan summoned a Tyrant to fight…little does he know we've fought one of those before and also know how to defeat it with ease. Humbaba the behemoth was our next opponent but like one behemoth is just like any other.

"Surely you've got something stronger than that?!" Snow shouted up to Titan pounding his fists together.

"We're not so weak now are we?!" Fang joined in.

Titan grumbled and activated the Cie'th stone once more. Do they give Titan the benefit of the doubt? Surely he must've saved the best for last?

"L'Cie dwell outside the natural order…" Titan grumbled as he teleported us to the final fighting ground, "Should their strength fail them, they become the mindless foes of life itself." Titan brought forth a Behemoth King.

"Oh great, another one." Sazh complained, "Nothing like witnessing survival of the fittest first hand."

Snow took on a defensive stance, "Can't be any different than the last one. Let's finish this quick."

I held my arm out to stop them, "He's not our opponent."

"Up there!" Hope pointed to the cliff above and there stood an Undying Cie'th with one arm holding a long red sword. With ease it dropped down from the high cliff and ran with incredible agile speed towards the Behemoth King. It parried with the Behemoth's sword twice before it jumped behind him and struck the beast in the lower back – the other end protruding out the beasts' muscular pectoral. What made everyone cringe the most was the fact the Cie'th lifted the beast like a piece of meat on a stick and had the nerve to show it to us as if saying 'this will be you' before tossing it over the cliff side.

"This guy must've been a great swordsman before he became a Cie'th." I told them, drawing my weapon when the Cie'th faced us, "I remember very little rumors about him from hunters that were lucky enough to escape him."

Fang held her lance across her body in a defensive stance, "Lucky is right. Once you're a Cie'th, killing's the only thing that comes naturally. Keep a cool head and we can win this."

* * *

 **(After one hell of a long ass battle. Seriously took too much trial and error and eye strain for this boss. Vercingetorix was a cake-walk in comparison to me and that creature was one of the super bosses. Long Gui and I are still working out our differences five years later…)**

"Fortune smiles upon the strong and worthy. Surrender not to despair." Titan spoke, "The future of life's cycle goes with you."

Fang crossed her arms, "Some endorsement, coming from the guardian of all life on Gran Pulse.

Light placed a hand on her hip, "You protect the circle of life, don't you?"

Titan says nothing and walks away.

* * *

"I can't believe these two are still going at it…"

"Look at them go."

"We better be careful."

The gang weaved in and out of the two battling beasts before running full steam into a large cave. Seeing all the rusted metal working, they were surprised that electricity still barely illuminated the long tunnels.

"Who ever made these tunnels haven't slept much." Snow commented as they made their way down a rusted ramp.

"A Pulse fal'Cie made these paths." Fang told them, "No doubt digging more tunnels right now."

Hope looked at the walls in wonder, "They seem different than the fal'Cie on Cocoon…it's like they plow through, not caring what happens around them."

I nodded, "That's true, but then again we've been able to make homes on the land made by fal'Cie, so they're not entirely different."

Lightning crossed her arms, "So what's this place called?"

"The Mah'habara Subterra." Vanille answered before taking point in their little journey through the long wide tunnels.

* * *

"What's that for?" They stumbled upon an unfinished structure that could've been some kind of platform or an unfinished bridge. They manage to make it half way across before the earth shook under them, nearly knocking them off their feet. The cause of the tremor came rolling under the rusty platform they're standing on.

"Let me guess…" Snow walked towards the edge to get a better look at the spherical fal'Cie with dull spikes around it, "That's a fal'Cie?"

"Yep." Vanille chirped, "Atmos…busy carving out new tunnels."

"Making roads where roads ain't meant to go, huh?" Snow joked, "Sounds just like us! Alright, rollie-pollie, let's hitch a ride!"

Vanille smiled at his enthusiasm, "Now you're thinking Gran Pulse style!"

"Jumping on him while he's still rolling around might not be the best option." I pointed out. We're standing on a broken bridge and it would be too dangerous to walk along any path that Atmos makes. The path continued on the other side but with a piece of the bridge gone there's no way to get there.

"Gyahhhh!" We all knew that yell anywhere. Hope got himself into trouble again.

"Ugh." Lightning could only shake her head, watching the boy trying to pilot one of the Pulse Armaments, "It's the Vile Peaks all over again."

And just like the Vile Peaks Hope falls off the machine once it fell into the ditch below them. Everyone shouted his name, for him to get out of there before he gets himself hurt. By the time Hope got to his feet the fal'Cie was making its way towards him.

By some stroke of luck the machine Hope had been operating came to his rescue, using its mechanical arms to stop Atmos in its tracks! Yelling words of encouragement to the mechanical weapons, more and more came to help stop Atmos completely!

"That's a lesson for us right there." Sazh said, staring at the immobile fal'Cie, "Not even a mighty fal'Cie is a match for the power of teamwork. That is inspiration…"

Fang came up behind him, "Save the sermons old man, let's hop on trailblazer here while we still have a chance."

* * *

"Finally some fresh air!" Sazh exclaimed, stretching out his arms once we made it out of one of many long tunnels of Mah'habra. It was more of an opening that Atmos created by accident before craving on elsewhere. "This will be a good place to rest for now."

The others agreed. There's a small stream for us to refill our water and there was a save station for us to purchase rations. Fang and Vanille told us that they were going to walk ahead for a little bit. I gathered Fang was finally going to have that talk with Vanille, hope it goes over well. _'Now that I think about it, Vanille is the only one who hasn't gotten her Eidolon...'_

"So, Eria, have you ever been to Oerba?" Snow asked, chewing on a granola bar as he took a seat on one of the boulders.

I nodded once, "I haven't met Vanille or Fang there but I briefly went to school there and one of my relatives used to work at the Depot where we get shipments from far beyond our lands."

"How far have you traveled?" Lightning asked, mildly curious.

I picked one of the flowers near my knee, "No further than Oerba I'm afraid. I didn't stay there long myself because that's where the fal'Cie Anima used to reside. I did like the ocean there though and the bridge was always amazing to look at."

Sazh cradled the Chocobo chick in his hands, smiling fondly at it as it danced in his palms, "I admit, despite the blood thirsty monsters around here, this place has some amazing views."

I nodded in agreement, "The War has left some of its scars but there are some amazing sights."

Moments later Vanille and Fang came back. Vanille's eyes were a little wet, as though she had been crying, but she still had her happy-go-lucky smile on her face. They must've sorted out what they been meaning to tell each other. No one commented on what the two girls did and instead decided to relax for the night before continuing onward because tomorrow we will travel to Oerba.

* * *

 **I'm still sad and frustrated that I lost so much of my original material that made this so much better, you can tell it's rushed and that I gave up.**


	10. Oerba

**I have not much to say other than I suck at updating. Being an adult is hard! I'm going to wrap up this story to clear my conscious.**

(c) Square Enix

* * *

Chapter 10: Oerba

"Now this looks like a great place to swim." Snow smiled gesturing to the deep pools of water and waterfalls. "I don't suppose we could take a quick dip?"

Fang shook her head and pointed to the pool of water off to the left. Everyone stood near the edge and peered at the water, not far from the waterfall there were bubbles popping at the surface, indicating that something was lurking in that spot. Feeling daring Snow picks up a rock and tosses it into the pool where the bubbles are. Not a split second later a whale-like creature breeches from the water, spraying them with water before diving back in with a hiss of warning.

"Bismarck." Vanille informed us bouncing on toes, "That fal'Cie protects the waterfront."

Snow sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Guess we should leave it alone and keep on moving, huh?"

* * *

"There's Taejin's Tower." I told the group once we were finally out of the dreaded tunnels. Before us a once very tall tower laid fallen over from its base. From this distance it looked as though it was a poorly makeshift bridge for the giant chasm below. "A friend of mine used to love coming here."

"Why?" Hope asked curiously as he came to stand next to me.

I used my arms to demonstrate how tall the tower used to be fore it snapped, "Because there used to be eight tier's to the tower and when you pull the switches located on each tier of the tower the tiers would change position and when you use the elevator from the ground floor to the top floor the whole tower would play music."

"Like a music box?" Hope marveled, looking at the ruined tower in wonder, "That's almost hard to believe something that big can do that."

Vanille couldn't help but bounce on her toes in excitement, "We get through there and we'll be Oerba!"

"Almost home." Snow smiled at the younger girl.

"Yep!"

Lightning sees the monsters flying overhead of the base, "Doesn't look like it's going to be a leisurely stroll." Right on cue the fal'Cie that we've been following since we first arrived to Pulse flew by so quick that Sazh ducked out of fear. Fang laughed at Sazh while Vanille was waving her arms trying to get the fal'Cie to come closer. Crazy girl.

Hope slumped over a bit probably thinking it would've been easier to get through the tower if the fal'Cie wasn't there, "Oh, so we just head through this fal'Cie's lair to get to Oerba, right?"

"What's another fal'Cie at this point, huh?" I shrugged.

"That one might actually be a problem." Fang said once she recovered from laughing at Sazh, "It's said that Dahaka is tasked to search for Etro's Gate from the sky. Although the majority of the fal'Cie on Pulse dedicate themselves to terraforming or helping the environment, Dahaka seems to task itself with aerial monitoring or is in the search for something the heavens conceal."

"So building a tower to reach up to the heavens may have been Dahaka's way of trying to locate Etro's Gate?" Lightning asked.

I placed my hands on my hips, "That's the theory; it would explain why it's broken now. For all we know Etro struck it down so no one can reach her."

-0-0-

We ventures through the tower, taking on a series of missions from the resident statues, whose powers are held in check by the monsters inhabiting the tower. If we complete the missions - the statues will spin the tower's segments into alignment, opening the path upward.

"It really is like a music box." Hope smiled as he listened to the tune the elevator created as it traveled upward. "The melody is beautiful."

I nodded in agreement.

At the tower's apex, the platform stopped, and we all looked around until Snow pointed and said "Hey, look!"

Dahaka flew down to float before us, roaring mightily.

"It's acting strange," Lightning observed. "He must be weak from losing his tail to the statues!"

Then Dahaka's mask disappeared, showing his true form; a serpentine demon sitting on a throne.

"Really? Looks pretty feisty to me," Snow commented.

"He's bluffing to scare us off." Hope told the blonde.

"He won't. We have to defeat it here and now cause if we don't, we're never getting to Oerba," I called, and at that everyone nodded.

-0-

Hope nodded and pointed at the lift that had appeared once Dahaka died. "It's down that way, right?" he asked.

Vanille nodded "Yep!"

"What's it like?" Sazh walked to the edge of the tower, and as he did that she said "Well, it's kind of small. But it's warm and green, and very naturey!"

"Around the fal'Cie, it was flowers as far you could see, huh?" Fang smiled in remembrance.

Sazh looked back from the edge and said "The view from here ain't so rosy, I'm sorry to say."

We all joined Sazh to the edge to see the view. Where the probably once was a bright and life-filled village, now there stood an empty and ruined town, filled with Cie'th and covered in a fine layer of crystal dust.

"It's gone," Vanille said sadly.

"Every trace of color," Fang agreed. Then she scowled angrily and said "This is stupid. We're chasing shadows! This whole idea of losing our brands is hopeless!"

"Nothing is hopeless. We'll find a way," I said with conviction, "We beat the odds this far. There has to be something down there."

"Let's keep on looking. That's what we came here for. We all agreed, and now we're here," Hope said, grabbing Vanille's hand to drag her somewhere.

"You think... you think it's really possible?" Vanille asked him, as I followed behind them.

Lightning looked at Fang and said "There's no going back."

"You think I don't know that?" she replied, but we knew it was a rhetorical question.

-0-

We walked through Village Proper despite the other ruined houses there was one that still stood proudly besides being rusted.

"So which one is yours?" Sazh asked Vanille watching her skip towards the house.

"What do you mean?" She asked pausing in mid skip, "They're all ours. Everyone lived together."

Even though there weren't too many buildings to look through Hope asked if it would be better to split us to look around for some sort of clue. We searched the nearby houses and turned up empty. We checked the deserted school with a little more confidence; however whatever books that would've been helpful had been completely ruined. Now we were all more depressed than ever.

"Now what?" Sazh asked the group.

"Nowhere else but forward." Snow said pointing to the broken rusted bridge and by broken I mean that it no longer reached the other side, it broke half way to land. He probably figured we could use our Eidolons to take us the rest of the way. Figured that we had nothing else left to lose we followed Snow's lead.

-0-

Once we reached the end there was no enemy in sight.

"Ragnarok. Come Day of Wrath, o Pulse l'Cie. Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn. That fallen souls might bear our plea... to hasten the Divine's return. O Piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok..." We all looked forward, seeing Serah appear before us, looking the same as she did before she turned to crystal. "Make of this day a brave epoch. Deliver the Divine. Ragnarok."

"Serah? How do you-?" Snow asked.

She smiled. "I was waiting. For you to open your eyes," she said. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, before running towards each other and embracing. Sazh frowned, sensing something was up, while beside him my hand crept slowly up towards my weapon. This wasn't Serah. "All the time I was asleep, I knew what was happening. I kept trying to think up a way to save Cocoon- together."

Something in her voice caused Snow to ask "Serah?" and looked at her. Seeing the expression on her face, he pushed her away. She smiled, this one seeming to be more menacing, and said "You get it now."

I looked up and saw the owl flying overhead, while Serah said "There are no gods with miracles to save us, no matter where you look. That's why we have to call one." Abruptly she turned to us, and said "Destroy Orphan. We'll save the world!"

"Stop it!" Lightning called, her hand reaching for her gunblade.

Serah saw it and said "You can't do that. You love me too much. You do, don't you Claire?"

Lightning gasped at hearing her real name, and Snow stepped in between them. "Enough of this! Listen up; we are all shooting for the same goal here."

Suddenly the person who looked like Serah's body began glowing, flashing bright before revealing them to be Barthandelus. "And the result of that is this," he said, spreading his arms.

Snow's expression filled with anger, and he said "You son of a-" He tried to punch Dysley but he disappeared, reappearing behind Snow. He tried to charge at him, but a barrier launched Snow back and sent him to the ground.

While we tried to help him up, Barthandelus said "You betray your fal'Cie to chase after dreams and shadows. The world you claim to wish to protect now faces the end of days with no hope of salvation."

"I didn't think fal'Cie had the means," Lightning replied.

Dysley chuckled. "You are correct; it won't be fal'Cie who destroy her. For centuries now, Cocoon cared generously for its human inhabitants' every want and need. Coddled them, one might even say. The result being their deep-seated fear and hatred of change and all things alien…fed, nurtured, and ready to detonate at the slightest spark. The seeds of destruction take root, even now."

"What did you do to Cocoon?" Lightning demanded, drawing her gunblade.

"I resigned, appointing Raines as Primarch in my stead," he replied simply.

Snow's eyes widened. "Raines? He's alive?"

Barthandelus smiled evilly. "The puppet is restrung to serve my needs, yes."

The others all made sounds of horror, "It's eyes had long since turned to glass." Then he pointed his staff at Cocoon. "Of course, the Cavalry's eyes will see our friend as nothing more than a traitor to their cause. They'll say the fal'Cie got to him too, or some such drivel. And imagine, when I spread word that's Orphan tugging at his strings, what happens next."

"You're gonna use the Cavalry to take the thing out?!" Sazh asked in disbelief.

Dysley smiled, only this time it was much more menacing. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll feign the howling of Pulsian wolves and let the fear-addled sheep slaughter themselves first. Either way, the end is at hand!" He laughed, the sound making my blood boil. "But what of yourselves? Will you enjoy the festivities beside me? Or perhaps..." he rose into the air transforming into Barthandelus. "Greet the end here, in the land where it all began?"

We readied our weapons for another fight.

-0-0-0-

After the final blow Barthandelus transformed back into Dysley, "The time has come. Allow me to extend my invitation. To save a people beyond salvation, there is only Ragnarok," he said. The owl flew overhead, glowing and transforming into an airship that landed at the end of the bridge. "Cocoon suffers. Release her from her pain," he ordered before disappearing.

When he vanished a Cie'th stone appeared before us. Sazh inspected it, "So this is the end of the rainbow, huh?" He joked, "Here's hoping the pot's full of tips on dealing with crackpot fal'Cie."

Walking towards it I raised my hand to it and immediately gasped when I heard a very familiar voice in my head. Tears swelled in my eyes as it spoke out loud, "Cocoon, where the slaves of Lindzei dwell, is the enemy of all life fostered by Pulse's sacred hand. So our fal'Cie determined Pulse's will, chose l'Cie and gave them a Focus: Become Ragnarok and bring about the end of Cocoon. And so the beast rose, defeated Lindzei's hateful fal'Cie and prepared to tear Cocoon apart. But Her Providence betrayed our l'Cie, draining Ragnarok of strength. Their Focus only half complete, the l'Cie were taken to the enemy's land by Barthandelus, curse his name. And the Goddess said: L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken however long they may wait. And Ragnarok will rise again to tear the land from its seat in the sky. Her word…is absolute. My darling daughter…my regret was not educating you on this…complete your focus in your own way. Be like your father and spit in the eye of fate."

I wiped the tears from my eyes, "Mom… I can't believe she became a stone."

"This is…your mother's stone?" Hope cautiously approached me. I nodded slowly.

Sazh let out a depressed sigh and sat down on the broken bridge, "That's it then. Cocoon's done for."

"Not just Cocoon." Snow said, "As long as fal'Cie are around this fight is never going to end. Let's stop Dysley!"

Sazh stood up throwing his hands in the air, "What about Orphan?"

Fang jumped in, "We help Orphan. What else can we do? If we manage to keep it safe-"

Light shook her head, "Another war breaks out somewhere down the road. We're l'Cie. It's not like we can make the people stop fighting."

My eyes never left my mother's stone, "Then we'll send a message strong enough that even they can't ignore." If Dysley wants to spread panic all around Cocoon there's no doubt that he'll have everyone watching it go down.

"You mean crash the party?" Snow asked, a grin forming on his face, "That's a plan I can get behind!"

Sazh shook his head, "Kids have gone crazy."

Fang smirked, crossing her arms, "Revolutionaries always get called crazy."

Once again Sazh shook his head. He couldn't believe we were really going to go through with this. Lighting placed her hands on her hips and faced us, "Alright we do this without regrets."

Everyone nodded and proceeded to the ship Dysley provided for us. I said one more farewell to my mother before walking off with Hope and Vanille with the adult trailing behind us. Even though he was nervous Hope told me he was ready to go through with this till the end so he could see his dad again. Behind us we heard Sazh arguing with Lightning about how this was a suicide mission. Lightning basically ignored him telling him if he wanted to stay that was up to him but they weren't going to save him if the monsters come to eat him.


	11. Eden

Not much left to go! Glad I'll be able to check this off the list of stories I can take off my laptop.

(c) Square Enix

* * *

Chapter 11: Eden

The moment we left the gate from pulse the ship disappeared from around us and we immediately summoned our Eidolons to help us. Just as Dysley planned we arrived in Eden right in the middle of a Gan Prix. This is the perfect way for us to leave a message to all of Cocoon.

"Odin!" Lightning called out. The Eidolon appearing helping Lightning with her descend.

Startled by our sudden appearance one of the drivers nearly ran off the course, but the Shiva sisters caught it just in time. The crowds cheered as Snow landed on the car, raising his arm into the air.

"And the Hero saves the day!" He shouted soaking up the attention. The camera caught his l'Cie brand, and the cheers turned to screams of horror. Seeing the shift in mood he lowered his arm, "Probably should have covered that." With his five seconds of fame over he jumped on the Shiva's gestalt mode and rode off leaving diamond dust in his wake.

"Intruders on the racing circuit! Confirmed Pulse l'Cie! All units respond with lethal force!" a soldier commanded.

Snow smirked deviously, "Catch me if you can!" leading the platoon of soldiers on a chase.

He rode under the overpass Hope and I stood on. Hope grabbed my hand and we confidently jumped down and landed gracefully on the ground, standing without fear as they all raced around us at breakneck speeds. A mech raced towards us stopping centimeters from our faces but we stared it down without fear even going as far to give it a friendly greeting. It reared its arm back to strike but Alexander and Leviathan intercepted the attack.

"Cut them off!" Hope orders his Eidolon.

I pointed to the other oncoming threats and shouted to Leviathan, "Hose em down!"

Once they had been dealt with we regrouped with Lightning at the end of the track where Eden shone brightly.

"What's that sound?" Lightning asked.

There were sounds of people screaming, soldiers firing and monsters roaring. "Say again, patrol. And speak clearly," a Marshal said, to which the patrol replied "The armies of Pulse! They're using transgates!" "Transgates? How many are there?" he asked, alarmed. "Numbers unknown. But it's all full-scale invasion! Eden is being overrun!"

One gate opened and flying Cie'th emerged taking the air while people screamed. One expanded larger than the others, and an Adamantoise walked through, charging mindlessly and not caring if it crushed civilians. Said civilians screamed and tried to get out of the way, meeting only more monsters.

"So that's what's happening, huh?" Snow watched as the scene unfolded.

"Looks like the Cavalry's made its move," Hope stated.

Sazh found an earpiece on the ground and picked it up, hearing voices yelling from his he held it near his ear, "There's more to it than that," Sazh told them, "Besides the ones we just saw, they say all of Eden is crawling with Pulse nasties."

"Fresh off the Ark, I'd wager," Fang stated with her arms crossed.

"This is out of control. What will happen to Cocoon?" Sazh asked tossing the communicator aside.

"It's all-out war," Lightning stated, "And if we don't stop, this war will be the one that ends Cocoon."

"Did we cause this by coming back? Barthandelus's prediction- it's all coming true," Hope said a little worried.

"Well his future stops here. We're the ones who decide what happens next," Snow said firmly.

"Let's get going! Vanille chirped.

The more we stood around the more people are going to suffer until we stop this.

With that we nodded and kept moving. The Home guard, PSICOM and Guardian Corps soldier tried to stop us, but with our strength they fell back easily. Eventually we reached a ledge, one that stopped and let to nowhere to go. Below were fighting soldiers, the Sanctum fighting the Cavalry.

"Uh, okay. I don't know about this," Sazh voice shook as he backed away from the edge.

Vanille kneeled down to see how long of a drop it really was, "If only we could fly!"

I smiled and without another word I leapt over the edge hearing Vanille screaming my name.

Lightning shouted "We can jump!"

Even through the wind rushing past me I could hear Vanille and Sazh screaming, and smiled.

Timing it just right I released the gizmo that would soften our fall. The moment we touched down

Lightning and I cleared the nearby soldiers out of the way, letting the others land safely behind us.

We had to fight our way through Eden with very little time to rest.

-0-0

After fighting our way through waves of soldiers that were stronger than we've ever encountered before, we arrived in front of a ship I recognized as The Proudclad.

Rosch stepped forward, glaring at us. "I see your power has grown, Mr. Villiers. No matter. We will lay down our lives if that's what it takes to stop you."

"Hey, we're on the same side here. We came to stop all this!" Snow shouted angrily.

"Nevertheless, you are l'Cie. We can trust the pawns no more than the fal'Cie that move them. Humanity's fate rests in our hands!" Rosch jumped into the ship and closed the hatch.

-0-

Rosch slowly climbed out of the mech. The fight seriously injured him; gasping for air and a single trial of blood falling down his forehead.

Lightning stepped forward. "Rosch, it's over. You need to understand that this is bigger than all of us."

"What of my soldiers?" he asked. None of us said anything, "I see."

"Why are you doing this, Rosch? I mean, haven't you done enough?" Sazh asked.

"Enough? Under fal'Cie orders, I've orchestrated mass murder. All to answer the fears of a panicked populace. For people utterly dependent on the fal'Cie, it was the only solution I could provide. Even if that solution was a farce," he stated.

"Then, you knew the fal'Cie were using us?" Hope asked him.

"I believed their rule was best for Cocoon's present and future prosperity. But it seems I misjudged their benevolence. If this is my punishment, I accept it," he said, leaning against the ship.

Fang glared at him, most likely upset that after all his bravdo he's just giving up, "So you're just gonna let everything go to hell? Is that it?"

"You're right. One thing remains," he sighed, standing straight and pulling out a communicator. "This… is PSICOM Director Rosch. Attention all PSICOM and Guardian Corps units. Suspend l'Cie operations. I repeat, suspend l'Cie operations," he said formally. At that we all gasped, and he continued.

"All units should focus on evacuating the civilian population. I do not issue this order as an absolute. You are free to make the choice," he said, putting the communicator down and looking at us. "Go. You're here to save Cocoon, aren't you? Or was that a farce as well?"

We nodded and kept going

-0—0-0-

We walked into the throne room of Eden, seeing a trio of statues that looked like angels around the edges. But no matter where we looked, Dysley wasn't in sight. "Where's Barthandelus?"

We were standing on a marble podium with Cie'th a little ways a way, while other blocks and machinery flew past us, heading for a swirling electrical void and disappearing.

"What the-? What is this place?" Sazh asked.

"The stream of data that flow through Eden's conscience in physical form…Orphan's Cradle," I told him remembering the stories. There was a feral roar, and we turned to see a pack of Sacrifice Cie'th lumbering towards us. Sighing, we pulled out our weapons and faced them.

-0-0-0-0-

The last two Cie'th fell to the ground and without a word we pressed on. As we progressed through Orphan's Cradle we continuously followed the angelic statue of Eden in order to get through.

At one point Fang asked "What's the point of all this, anyway?"

"Dysley wants us to give in despair, that's why he's having us fight Cie'th." Lightning guessed.

"When one of us is enveloped in that anger and sadness, that one will become Ragnarok," I explained.

"Then, we just have to make it through faster, that way we can find Barthandelus and finish him," Hope said, and we all agreed.

Not few moments later we were teleported into a battle, this time against one Tiamat Eliminator. It looked just like Ushumgal Subjugator that we had fought in Palumpolum, only larger, more deadly and ice-powered to boot.

-0-

After the smoke cleared the enemy was gone, and we were all teleported back to Orphan's Cradle. The three angelic statues floated before us, and the white and gold ones moved to the side, waving their arms and creating two gateways. We looked closely at them, and Vanille pointed at the one on the left. "That leads back to Pulse!"

"Yeah, and that one goes back to Cocoon," Snow said, nodding at the one on the right.

"A last 'gift' from Barthandelus?" Hope wondered, "A last chance to turn back?"

"He's either scared or trying to intimidate us." I added, as the last one, the golden statue, creating a third portal directly before us. Its surface was murky and distorted, but we knew where it led. "The Narthex, wherein lies Orphan."

"Well, there it is. You guys ready?" Lightning asked. We all nodded, and she placed her hand on the portal. We were enveloped in light and disappeared, reappearing in long hallway. The walls were an off-white, covered in rows and columns of circular lights that gave off a soft glow. At the middle was a large statue of Lindzei, the goddess who had created Cocoon and its fal'Cie, along with several floating couches and windows through which streamed sunlight.

"Alright, let's take a moment to rest," Snow suggested, "This is the final charge- we better make sure we're ready."

No one argued. Sazh, Vanille and Lightning sat down on the couches and made quite talk while Snow and Fang leaned against the wall quietly discussing something. I stood further away from everyone and stared out one of the windows to watch the clouds cover almost everything in sight with the only thoughts running constantly through my head was, 'This is it. This is it. Life or death. One mistake and it's all over.'

"Eria?" I was startled by Hope, "What are you thinking about?"

I let out an unsettled sigh, "A lot of negative things." I admitted, "I should have a straighter head than this, but all I keep thinking about is what's going to happen if we fail. I don't want everything we've been through to be for nothing." I fumbled my hands in frustration, "We've been through hell because of these fal'Cie had nothing better to do than to screw us over…we have a chance to change all that and I just can't help but feel that if we die-"

Hope grabbed both my hands in his and held them tightly trying to transfer his confidence into me, "Then we won't die." He said with such certainty that I nearly believed him, "Like you said – we've been through hell…and we've made it this far…we're practically at the end…after everything we've been through we have to make it through this too." He smiled at me, "Remember what you said on Pulse before we went through Titan's trials? You said if we make it through that we can make it through anything." He gave my hands a firm shake, "I believe that we can do this because when we get through this there's so much I want to experience with you."

I looked at our hands. I admit that I'm a little scared because this will be the biggest fight we'll ever experience but at the same time I do want to make it through this because there's much I want to experience with Hope too. Looking him in the eyes I squeezed his hands back, "If you believe then I believe too." I told him with honesty.

"But…um…" His cheeks became flustered, "…in case we don't make it through…" He looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching before he quickly pecked me on the cheek. My face immediately felt hot. I touched my cheek out of shock.

"Hey, what are you two doing over there?" Snow asked walking towards us with the others in tow, "Break time's over. Let's get this show on the road."

Flustered, Hope and I followed behind the adults. I decided that if and when we make it through this I will return that little favor to Hope…that's one of the things I want to experience with him.

At the end of the hall the door opened and we walked in, seeing the Narthex Throne spread out below us. Clock-like gears spun around the edges of the room, with a circular pool at the back, and in the center was a single white stone throne, engraved with the symbol of Lindzei.

"Ready?" Lightning asked.

We all nodded knowing it was the moment of truth and we all jumped down.


	12. Rebirth

Glad I'll be able to check this off the list of stories I can take off my laptop. Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed, favorite, and just read in general. I finished this with all of you in mind!

(c) Square Enix

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Rebirth**

I landed on my feet, knees bent to absorb the impact, when along with the others I saw something strange. Tiny pinpricks of light, like glittering dust, hovered all throughout the air.

"Little lights, just like in Oerba," Vanille gasped, her hands cupping the air to touch the lights.

We looked around, until suddenly a pair of blue and green lights shined next to the throne. Dysley's voice sounded. "Life's spark shines on, once freed from its fleshly shroud." The lights faded into two crystals, ones which we recognized.

"Dajh!"

"Serah!"

From behind us the owl flew, gliding around the throne as Barthandelus appeared.

"Dreams, meanwhile, shatter in a flash," he said, rising his staff before tapping the ground with it. Instantly the crystal holding Dajh shattered.

"Dajh!" Sazh yelled out for his son.

Snow reached out to Serah. "No!" he cried as it shattered as well. His hand curled into a fist and charged forward, yelling in rage but just like before he was sent back by Dysley's barrier.

Lightning knelt next to him. "Think; where's the real Serah?"

He looked at her, before pulling out the crystal tear he had received from Serah. It glowed with a faint light humming with energy.

Sazh held his hand down and the chocobo chick hopped on it, chirping, "Listen, it isn't real. Just fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," he said trying to convince us and himself.

Drawing his boomerang, Hope said "Yeah, they don't work miracles. They play tricks."

Fang and Vanille looked back as the doorway we came from was sealed by a barrier.

''At last, my errant l'Cie. Men fight men; men battle beasts, Cocoon wars with Pulse. There can be no end to such conflict. But Cocoon's end is imminent and inevitable. Will you not at least slay Orphan and make it quick? As an act of mercy?"

"No," I said flatly.

Lightning stepped forward. "Mercy? You mean murder. And Cocoon won't die; we're not here for that." She drew her gunblade and pointed it at him. "We came for you."

Dysley sighed and slouched on his throne. "Such willful insolence... Disappointing," he stated angrily, his expression hardening as he rose into the air. "You prolong Cocoon's suffering. And to what end? Refusing me today but condemns another to face your Focus tomorrow. If you truly seek salvation..." Minerva flew into the light of his staff, and Barthandelus revealed his true self. " ** _You will obey!_ "**

His true form was the same as it was by the end of our battle in Oerba, that being with his face in the center and two and each side, only this time he had white metallic wings on the side as well.

We all gripped our weapons tightly and prepared ourselves.

"We decide our own fate, you bastard!" I hissed drawing back my arrow, lacing it with Ruin, "We won't obey anyone but ourselves!" I struck the first blow and everyone followed after.

-0- **End Battle 1** -0-

Dysley flew through the air until he landed in the massive pool, where he slowly sank as he flailed wildly screaming in agony. Barthandelus sank beneath the water, " ** _Release. At last, release!_ "**

"It's done," Lightning sighed with relief.

Everyone was silent for a moment in disbelief that it was finally over, until Snow pumped his fist in the air and yelled "Alright!"

Feeling the euphoria Vanille called out to Fang and the two of them tapped their arms together. Sazh put his hand on his knees and sighed audibly feeling the huge weight off his shoulders. Hope and I stared at each other fondly. The only one who wasn't celebrating was Lightning.

"Light?" Everyone stopped as the room suddenly darkened.

Looking up we saw that damn owl flying overhead. "It's that bird again!" Hope shouted. It flew down and entered the water, causing the room to tremble as a shape emerged from the pool. On the left side was a white and gold female face with a short white arm cradling a sleeping face, and half a set of golden wings. On the right was a face that was dark purple and male, with burning red eyes and a huge clawed arm. The rest of the body resembled a blade, and was engraved with the symbol of Lindzei. In two voices that spoke in perfect synchronicity, **" _A haven, yea. Yet it must fall ere we be saved. Too frail a shell and humans should not thrive."_ ** The male slammed its first on the ground, the force knocking us off our feet, _**"Too stout a shell and they shall not die."**_ We climbed back to our feet and I'm pretty sure we're all wondering how in the hell we were going to defeat this entity. **" _Slaughter and salvation! Two irreconcilable Focuses we bore. Yet bound we were in a cocoon prison impervious to our power. And so we thank you for granting us our longed-for birth_."**

"Dysley?" Snow questioned.

"No, not anymore," Sazh stated in a small voice.

The being lowered until it was before us, spreading its arms and wings. " ** _We are the Abandoned One, born but now to die. Our name is Orphan. By our hand the world shall know redemption_** _!_ " they declared.

"That's Orphan?!" I grit my teeth and glared at them hatefully.

"Bring it on!" Snow yelled, running ahead of me with hands fists raised. Orphan chuckled and rose into the air, the blade part of its body glowing. Sensing the danger we only managed to back up a few feet before it slammed on the ground, unleashing Merciless Judgment. The move sent out a wave of massive energy, one strong enough to send us all flying and dealing enough damage to put us all on the brink of death. We're essentially facing the mother of all enemies here…we're going to need all the power we can muster if we're going to stand a snowball's chance in hell.

-0-

Orphan laughed, rising up into the air, the symbol of Lindzei on its sword –like body glowed bright red crackling with energy before it attacked us. We were all enveloped in a huge storm of dark energy. We all screamed with agony as unbearable pain wrecked our bodies. Many of us collapsed, knocked near-unconscious and completely unmoving from the pain.

Orphan lowered, momentarily stopping the torment, **_"Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men?"_** Catching my breath first I slowly got to my knees and glowered at Orphan. " ** _We fal'Cie are crafted but for a single purpose, and granted finite power unto that end. With men it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'Cie that we might wield such strength. Through you, we obtained freedom from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains,"_** Orphan said, before looking at Vanille knowingly. **" _Defy it, and it will all be for naught. Cocoon's sacrifice and that of Gran Pulse as well_** _._ " Its hand held an orb of energy and before I knew it I was lifted into the air. " ** _But, if we but summon the Maker, we will be given the chance to begin again. All our sins absolved, and the world born anew!"_** That was when I was electrocuted. I screamed in pain. **" _Submit l'Cie. Become Ragnorak. Lead us into the light!"_**

"AAAHHHH!" My arms and legs move in random spasms, no longer under my control as I writhed in pain. _'Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!'_

"Eria!" Vanille cried out, "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

"Let her go!" Fang demanded, slowly rising as well despite her own pain. "I'll do it!"

Orphan replied **" _We have no need for flawed l'Cie_. _You two have failed as Ragnorak._ "**

 **" _Ragnorak. The will to guide a world into oblivion. She alone can do it. Deep in her heart we feel her wish to end it all."_**

I gritted my teeth as I tried to bear the pain the wrecked my entire being, _'It's true that in the beginning, before I was forced into slumber, that I wanted both worlds to burn because of the endless pain the fal'Cie caused us humans. It was childish…I just wanted to the never ending cycle of pain to stop. I wanted to stop losing friends and family to the fal'Cie's whim…I wanted our world to be peaceful again where we could dance and play in the sunshine, ride on the backs of Chocobo, and live our lives without the burden of war.'_

"You heard me. I said I'll do it!" Fang shouted, stumbling forward.

Vanille managed to prop herself up with her arms, "You can't! You can't forget our promise! We promised to save Cocoon! We promised!"

Fang pointed her spear at her. "I made another promise too. To protect my family," she said, looking at her and stepping forward, "Sometimes… you've got to choose!"

Snow grabbed her spear, stopping her from doing anything foolish.

"What are you-?" She struggled against him.

Sazh wrapped his arm around her stomach, saying "This isn't the time to be losing it, lady!"

"You too, huh?!" she asked, surprised that everyone was recovering.

Lightning with Hope, shielding Vanille, "What do you gain from hurting Vanille? We're in this together!" Fang calmed enough to say "We have to save Eria! It's our fault if that thing makes her Ragnorak because of something we couldn't finish!"

 _'That's right…Vanille carried the burden of becoming Ragnorak and attacked Cocoon's shell…they couldn't fulfill their focus to destroy Cocoon and in turn Serah, Dajh, and the rest of us were turned into l'Cie because of them. Was that why I was put into crystal sleep and made a l'Cie too? Will I become Ragnorak and finish what they couldn't?'_ I bit the inside of my cheek as a sharp jolt went through my heart, ' _Vanille is too kind hearted to destroy Cocoon and Fang would do anything for Vanille even destroy herself. They have been through so much already. The others too…they had their loved ones taken away from them. They don't deserve to go through more pain. I'll become Ragnorak…if Vanille was able to hold herself back and only cracked Cocoon's shell then I'll destroy Orphan and then myself with Ragnorak's power.'_ Through sheer force of whatever will I had left I held out my branded hand, _'I'm sorry Hope…'_

The room encased in light blue.

xxx

 **" _Salvation is born of sacrifice- miracles of misery. From shattered shards a new crystal legend will arise,_ "** Orphan said. In Eria's place stood Ragnorak. She roared and charged forward with the intent to kill Orphan, but was sent back by Orphan's barrier. Shaking it off, she ran forward and jumped onto the barrier itself, her body shining with power and she clawed and pummeled away at the crystalline surface. **" _Yes! Let anger be your strength! Despair. Despair and save us all!"_** Eria managed to punch a hole in the barrier; she gripped the edges before ripping it apart. The barrier shattered and Orphan spreads its arms, saying " ** _Lo! The Day of Wrath is come!_ "** Behind Orphan came a flash of pure light that broke Eria's transformation.

Xxx

' _Orphan is wrong…anger is no longer my drive for strength…it's something else…something just as warm and strong as anger…Despair isn't going to be the thing that saves us…'_ I weakly lifted my hand to see that I had indeed turned back. I knew what that light was…

Orphan frowned in anger, **" _Why has it come undone?_ "** They waved their smaller arm, and sent a wave of healing light to heal me. Before I could embrace the cool feeling of being healed I was held in the air with my arms above my head by dark shackles of energy. **" _Retake the form of Ragnorak. Deliver us that which we have for too long been denied!_ "** Orphan demanded angrily.

They clenched their hands into fist and I screamed in pain hot fire ripped through my body as before. It lasted for a few minutes until I nearly passed out from the pain.

"You want to die…?" I took a shuddering breath before I hissed at them, "…then do it yourself! Leave us out of it!"

The lighter side of Orphan healed me before the darker side caused me more pain. The torturous process repeated over and over. " ** _Steep yourself in hatred. Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves!_ _Your awakening demands an offering of pain_."**

"You can cause me all the pain you like…I'd rather fight and lose everything than give up…"

I prepared for the worse, knowing my retort would result in more pain, thankfully three fireballs flew forward from behind me hit Orphan dead on. The entity screamed in pain and released me from my binds. I was sent through the air and I braced myself for a hard landing but thankfully someone caught me before I ever came close to the ground.

"That was a close one!" Snow winked at me, holding me securely in his strong arms.

I saw a pistol enter the edge of my sight, "Miracles out of misery? You have got to be kidding me." Sazh had his pistols locked on Orphan.

A lovely warm feeling washed over my body like water as Hope cast Curasa on me. Smiling fondly, he touched my cheek, "Yeah Eria's smart enough to know that's a lie."

Snow carefully sets me back on my feet as everyone flanked around me, each having their weapons out and prepared.

"We're alive!" Vanille exclaimed happily.

"But how?" Fang asked, standing.

"Could be more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," Lightning suggested her weapon locked on Orphan.

"Lightning…" I called out softly. She reached back and handed me my weapons, "Sorry we made you go it alone."

I shook my head, "I don't understand… where were you – after that light…?"

"Somewhere cold and dark," Hope answered, "thinking about everything that happened up until now. And then… and then it was like-"

"It was like… I had a glimpse of the future." Snow cut in knowing exactly what Hope was talking about, "Everyone was smiling and laughing." Smiling he pulled out Serah's crystal tear. "Even Serah. Even Light."

Lightning looked back at him, surprised. Had she seen the same thing as well?

"I don't know. It was a new Focus or something. You know, I'm thinking, it didn't really make sense of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but… As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along." The Chocobo chick chirped from his hair before diving back in for safety after seeing Orphan.

"You were there too Eria." Light told me, "Same side. All of us. Together to the end."

Fang looked at Vanille, "We promised, didn't we?" Vanille nodded, smiling.

Hope took my hand. Looking at our locked hands I saw that his brand peeking from the orange bandana on his wrist. His brand…it's white…just like Fang's… _'The brand of a l'Cie…the symbol of the Focus we all faced…the mark of the fate we all shared…'_

Orphan was still screaming in agony, sinking back beneath water. I almost didn't want to believe that last attack could've done that much damage to it. Even as Ragnorak I couldn't weaken it.

Snow curled his hands into fist and said "The heroes never die! Come on. We've got a world to save!" Hope nodded in agreement, "If we have the power to destroy Cocoon, then we have the power to save it!" He poised his weapon, ready to attack, "You say you want your Day of Wrath do you? Well it's coming right up!"

Sazh chuckled, "Time we gave the people what they really want."

"We've face hardships before. Let's make a real miracle happen!" Vanille exclaimed happily.

Fang scoffed as she spun her spear, "Lady Luck sure ain't on his side."

There was a high-pitched laughter as light shined from within the pool. Slowly another figure arose from it, shaped like a golden clock with a human face in the center.

Orphan, the _real_ Abandoned One. " ** _You overreach yourselves_."**

Lightning stepped forward bravely, "No. We overreach you."

 **" _Is that so?_ "**

"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born." She said, "Sat poisoning Cocoon from inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone."

I stepped forward. "We humans don't think like that. When there's no hope left, we keeping looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon and Pulse is past saving. But they're our homes and we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible -That is our Focus!" we all tightened our grips on our weapons.

Orphan shouted in rage before attacking.

-0-0-

All the attacks connected at once and resulted in a blistering explosion of light and heat, throughout which we could hear Orphan's screams of agony. When the light faded enough that we could see we saw Orphan still screaming, with miniature explosions occurring all over his body.

We watched in shock as he fell beneath the surface of the water, his screams quieting until they completely disappeared. We were silent for a moment, waiting to see if Orphan would return again in a different form. In all honesty I wasn't sure if we could fight Orphan again. We used everything we had, each of us summoning our Eidolons as a last resort when it came down to the wire. If Orphan came back I'm not sure we'll win.

Suddenly Orphan's cradle shook under our feet and we could hear the tolling of bells, just like before in Anima. The Gate of the Goddess was opening. We all rose above Edenhall, the Gate of the Goddess shining light upon us all, with the death of Orphan the fal'Cie Phoenix died, plunging Cocoon into darkness. We found ourselves floating above the city with crystals dancing around us.

"Stay together!" Lightning reached out to Snow who was floating closest to her. Snow grabbed her hand and reached out to Sazh who then reached out to Hope. Hope grabbed my hand just before I floated away. When we floated closer together we noticed two others missing- Fang and Vanille!

Snow reached out his hand and called "Fang, Vanille!"

The two of them held hands as they looked up at us smiling, before turning to each other. "Vanille?"

Vanille nodded, "Ready."

"What were they doing?" I turned to Hope in question but gasped in horror when I saw his arm turning into crystal, "Hope!"

He looked at his arms and to the others as well. Are we turning into crystal because we completed our Focus in our own way like Raines or are we going to be put in crystal stasis like Fang and Vanille?

We watched with tears in our eyes as they were enveloped in light and a shockwave of energy shot outwards instantly disintegrating all the monsters in Eden. The dust from them all gathered around the two of them, and the light faded to reveal what they had become. The Piteous Wanderer, the Beast of Chaos, the Destroyer of Worlds. Ragnorak.

Everything is happening just as the way we saw it when we received our brands and Focus; Ragnorak spreading its many arms, roaring to the heavens, while Cocoon could be seen falling to the sky.

 **'It's truly all over for us…** '

xxx

The beast jumped off the edge of Eden and plunged down through the clouds, heading for the base of Cocoon. Pieces of magma and flaming rubble slammed into it, but it would not be stopped. It fell into the lava as Cocoon drew closer and closer into landing on Pulse. Ragnorak burst out of the lava pool, wrapping its arms around the base. Using its powers it summoned lava and rocks from Pulse below ushing back against Cocoon stopping its descent. The shell of Cocoon rippled as it melted and flowed like water, creating a new shell. The hardened base began to fall, immersed in the fire and lava Ragnorak could still be seen holding up Cocoon. With one last roar it burst into a beautiful array of crystals that clustered at the base of Cocoon before spreading around the planet, replacing the lava with crystal in a beautiful design.

As the last of the liquid crystal wrapped around Cocoon, the faces of Fang and Vanille could be seen before everything went eerily quiet.

xxx

When I opened my eyes I found myself on the plains of Pulse, near the new base of Cocoon. The sight had taken my breath away. Fang and Vanille did that.

"They did it. They saved the world," Lightning said in complete awe.

"No, they gave us a new one," Snow said, coming up from behind us.

Sazh nodded in appreciation, "That's one gift I'll forgive them for not wrapping."

Hope chuckled as he gazed at the crystal pillar, "Yeah."

" _This all we can do. The rest is up to you_ ," we heard Vanille's voice say.

We could see PSICOM troops and ships coming from Cocoon already. Somehow word must've spread that the danger has passed and the worlds are safe now.

"Does this mean we completed our Focus?" Hope asked, watching multiple ships load off hordes of soldiers and people alike onto the plains of Pulse.

"Cocoon's seen better days, that's for sure," Snow joked.

"Yep, I'd say this qualifies as a demolition," Sazh joked as well, "Focus complete,"

" _Whatever you want to believe,_ " We heard Fang said, sounding amused.

We all shared a laugh. They may be physically gone but it's nice to still hear them like this.

Lightning smiled fondly and if my eyes weren't fooling me, it looked as though she was ready to cry, "It really is a miracle."

Hope looked at his wrist where his brand used to be and exclaimed happily, "My brand is gone!"

We all checked ours to see that it's true! More than one miracle has happened.

" _It's easy to lose sight of things in a world as wide as this one,"_ Vanille stated, " _But if you keep going you're sure to find what you're looking for-sooner or later."_

Not sooner after she said that two figures were walking in our direction, and I heard a young voice say "And, and, and there a whole big bunch of chocobo there!"

"Really?" we heard a female voice say, and their faces became clear. It was Dajh and Serah!

Snow whispered her name, almost in disbelief that it wasn't her. Seeing as she hadn't disappeared yet he ran forward calling out her name. "Serah!"

Lightning smiled happily, seeing her sister alive and well, "It is…."

Sazh ran forward and embraced his son, both sharing a much needed moment.

"Snow!" Serah called running up to Snow with open arms.

"Serah!" Snow quickly snatched her up in a tight embrace, spinning her around as they both laughed. While the two groups shared their reunion I couldn't help but feel bittersweet that Fang and Vanille couldn't physically be here with us.

"They're gone, aren't they?" Hope asked sadly when we couldn't hear Vanille and Fang in our thoughts anymore. He grabbed my hand, "I guess they meant for this to be good-bye. Then again, we've changed our fates before."

It was wishful thinking but I nodded in agreement, "They came out of crystal slumber before…who knows…we might see them again one day."

Lightning nodded, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Serah grabbed Snow's hand and pulled him over to us, ready to be reunited with her older sister. Hope and I stepped back to allow the two sisters a chance to hug each other.

Lightning pulled from her sister, "Serah, I'm sorry."

They pulled back and she said "It's okay," before they were interrupted by Snow.

"Hey, come on, the apologies can wait! We've got a wedding to plan! You are gonna allow it, right?" he asked, placing a hand on Lightning's shoulder.

Despite the rude interruption Light couldn't help but laugh a little. By that time Sazh and his soon had joined in our little circle, laughing with us.

"Snow, you don't waste time do you?" Hope asked, slightly exasperated.

Sazh added laughing with his son, "That's right! Just charge in, guns blazing!"

"And damn the consequences." I smiled with my arms crossed, "You do have a plan for the wedding at least?" I teased, making everyone laugh at the embarrassed look on Snow's face, "Ahhh, you planned on just showing up making a dramatic speech and sweep her off her feet, huh?"

Everyone laughed at Snow's expense, "Well when you put it that way!"

Snow got his laughs out before he turned to Lightning with a look of determination, "I swear to you, I will make her happy."

Lightning nodded. "I believe you." She looked at the two of them fondly, "Congrats."

Everyone cheered happily. Fang and Vanille had truly worked a miracle for us by sacrificing themselves. We'll do our best to live our new lives and shape the world the way they want it.

"Oh…" My eyes widen as I remembered something I wanted to do since before we went into our final battle, "Hope…"

Hope turned to me curiously. Without much warning I cupped his soft cheeks and planted a kiss right on his lips, "Mmmph!?" He was unsteady for a few seconds before I felt his hands rest on my hips, returning the kiss wholeheartedly.

"Ohhhh!" Everyone cooed in awe and shock.

When we pulled away we both giggled at each other as we received much congratulations and teasing. With this new life I want to experience everything with not only Hope but with my new family that I've come to know and love.

Deep within the crystal pillar, the crystal of Fang and Vanille shone bright. " _When prayers turn to promises, nothing can stand in their way_. _Despite the hardships we faced, we strived forward for a better tomorrow_. _We held the light of hope in our hearts and achieved the impossible. Now we live on to greet a new dawn._ "

We all looked up at the new Cocoon. "Sleep well you two…and thank you…"

* * *

 **The end.**

 **So yeah wrote this when I was deeply in love with Final Fantasy 13, 13-2, and Lightning's return...then Final Fantasy 15 came out... nuff said.**


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